The Gift
by scorp-luvs-rose-4eva
Summary: The Golden Trio and Ginny are back for another year at Hogwarts, but two months into their school term, it becomes evident that their year will not be spent at the Hogwarts they know after an eventful night sends them and a few of their new friends on an unpredictable journey.
1. Prologue: He's Done It

Prologue: He's Done It

**A/N: Okay, I'm really excited about this newest story I'm posting. I wrote it with my friend Kacey, and we've been writing it for a few years. It's finally finished, and we are psyched to start posting it online.**

The girl standing in the quaint little kitchen was short for her age, though her body was slender and shapely. Her long red hair fell in curls around her face as she stared down at the newspaper with hazel eyes. The brown haired boy sitting at the kitchen table was watching her with dark grey eyes, puzzled by her frozen stance.

"Ally?" he said quietly, but she appeared not to hear him.

She was studying the picture on the front page; in shock, almost. In the photo, a tired teenaged boy stared straight at the camera. He had messy black hair and brilliant green eyes that seemed to stare into hers with a dazed look. He looked as though he didn't believe what was happening.

She didn't look up from the newspaper even when her uncle Jacob walked into the kitchen behind her, but she spoke. "He's done it." She didn't speak too loudly, but her uncle paused in the act of pouring his coffee. There was a note in her voice that he couldn't ignore.

"What? Who? Who's done what?" When Ally was silent, he looked at the boy. "John? What's going on?"

John shook his head. "I don't know. She's been standing like that for a few minutes."

Jacob, concerned, walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "Ally, what's happened?"

"Harry. He's killed You-Know-Who. For good this time, it looks like. He's quoted in here, saying he's certain that You-Know-Who can never return again." John straightened in his seat, eyes wide.

"What?" Jacob took the paper from Ally and scanned the article quickly. Then he looked at the picture for a long moment, unable to repress the shudder from the haunted and disbelieving look in Harry's eyes. He shook his head quickly. "Lyn!"

His wife came running down the stairs and burst into the kitchen. Her friend came in on her heels, carrying a dark-haired little girl on her hip. Without a word, Jacob handed them the paper.

Lyn stared at it for several moments, seeming to read it more than once, as if she didn't believe it. When she finally looked up, she stared at Jacob in astonishment. "It's over." She said, sounding shell-shocked. "It's actually over." Jacob nodded and she threw her arms around him and kissed him. He responded, grinning against her lips, and only pulled away when Ally cleared her throat. Lyn and Jacob turned to face her.

"Well?" Ally asked. "What do we do now?"

John snorted, "Good question."

Jacob looked thoughtful for a moment, and then looked at Lyn's friend. "Celeste, you know what you have to do."

"Yes." Lyn's friend, Celeste, held the little girl in her arms tighter and left the room.

Jacob nodded resolutely and looked at Ally and John. "Now, we get prepared. And then we wait."

**A/N: So there's the prologue. We know all the characters are unfamiliar right now, but eventually, you'll find out who they are. Please review and tell us what you think! We'll post the next chapter soon, so keep reading!**


	2. Chapter 1: Planning

Chapter 1: Planning

**A/N: Okay, here's the first chapter! Have fun reading and please review, we always appreciate feedback!**

Ginny POV

My seventh year kicked off with a few surprises.

Number one, Harry and Ron were coming back to school with me to complete their seventh year. There was no doubt in my mind that Hermione would, but I expected Ron and Harry to find jobs and start out their lives. Harry told me the main reason he's coming back is because he doesn't want to lose me again, but I think he told Ron and Hermione something different. He probably didn't want them to know how much he depends on me.

Number two, there were three new students joining Hogwarts this year. That was strange. Sure, I had seen kids get pulled out of Hogwarts, but I'd never seen them transfer. They were in their seventh year and had made Gryffindor house. Kacey and Sarah were sisters that definitely looked it, both had green eyes, and their hair colors were close, though Kacey's was more red as opposed to Sarah's brown. Jose was Kacey's boyfriend of a year. With dark skin and dark brown hair, he was sweet and funny, and had cute pet names for Kacey like Honeybear and My-lady. Anyway, I liked them right away and I think Harry did too.

Another thing I was surprised about was that I went back to school with Harry as my boyfriend. He had to go through a lot after the Final Battle, what with the memorials and paparazzi trying to follow him everywhere. I thought he was going to curse a reporter or photographer on more than one occasion. It also surprised me that the reporters didn't really seem to know that Harry and I were even together. He was still being labeled #1 bachelor by Witch Weekly, with Ron at #4 right behind him. I think I was lucky to get him alone for a few minutes to talk. I somehow managed to catch him in his dormitory right after the Final Battle. He seemed a little surprised to see me, but not surprised that the first thing I did upon seeing him was slap him. I think the thing that surprised him most, though, was that I burst into tears immediately afterwards. Talk about making a fool of yourself in front of the guy you love. Harry managed to take it in stride and held me until I stopped bawling my eyes out. His comforting words also helped me regain control of my emotions. He told me he missed me, and I said the same thing back. He also said that he hadn't really realized how much he depended on my jokes and laughter until he was on the run. I smiled at him and he just stared for a minute, searching my face. I thought he was going to say something else, but then he took my face in his hands and he kissed me. That's when I knew that I really loved him. After everything he'd been through, the first thing he did, was ask me to go out with him again. We talked a lot over the next few months. We talked about nothing and everything. He told me about his year on the run. I told him about my year under the Carrows. We talked about what we wanted to do after we finished school, and we subtly made clear that we were hoping to be together for a long time.

Ron and Hermione were together, too—it's about time. If I said I wasn't surprised that Ron finally got the guts to ask Hermione out, I would be lying. Oh sure, I was glad they had finally figured out they liked each other, but still, after the whole year on the run, Ron didn't ask Hermione officially to be his girlfriend until after the Final Battle-and Harry even told me about that crazy kiss.

But let's get back to the new students. Jose, Sarah and Kacey played a big part in our seventh year at Hogwarts, and they became part of our group quickly and solidly. Kacey was the one with spirit. She had her opinions, and she stuck to them stubbornly; she and Ron got into arguments more than once over the first week of school about all kinds of things. Hermione liked her right off the bat-only because she agreed with S.P.E.W. and joined immediately. I think Harry almost fainted when he saw her wearing the badge the next day. She's also really impatient, which is quite funny to watch sometimes. Sarah was a little loud and definitely hyper, breaking into song randomly and occasionally while Kacey laughed. She and I got on really well. She was also stubborn about her views and she steadfastly disagreed with Hermione and Kacey's House Elf Liberation movement. Jose was one of the sweetest guys I'd ever met, and he was hilarious too. He was a great boyfriend to Kacey, but when we hung around in the common room, he usually had multitudes of people in stitches laughing. Hermione really had to crack down on him to get his homework done on time, and during these rants, he always begged Kacey for help, but she refused, claiming he needed to learn from someone.

A month and a half after school started, we were all sitting in the Head's Common Room, made available by Ron and Hermione's prestigious positions. They were trying to plan the Halloween Ball-at least Hermione was, and had enlisted our help. If Ron thought our involvement would lessen the work he had to do, Hermione soon proved him wrong. We had already decided it would be a costume ball, and were now working on signs and decorations. However, Kacey soon pulled us off topic.

"So, what kind of costumes are you guys planning on wearing?" She asked with a grin. "I'm thinking of going with a crystal blue ball gown and red heels with a crystal tiara. Like a princess."

"Ooooh." I grinned. "Going for red, huh?"

"Just a splash." Kacey replied. "What about everyone else?"

"I'm thinking a dark pink knee-length dress with black embroidery along the bottom and a black halter strap...I saw it on our summer visit to Hogsmeade. And I'll go with black heels and a black diamond tiara. Like a dark princess." Sarah grinned as she finished her explanation.

"That sounds intriguing..." Hermione said hesitantly. "I'm sure you'll get a Slytherin date that way." she said dryly. "I think we should all go as princesses of some sort...we've got Kacey and Sarah figured out...now me and Ginny...what do you think?"

"Hmm...I'm thinking a sheathe dress...dark blue, to my calves...like a sorceress princess. I'll wear a tiara with dark blue stones and dark blue shoes," I said.

"Do we get to see these before the ball?" Harry asked, reaching for me.

I slapped his hand away playfully. "No! Why would you even think that?" Harry pouted, and I grabbed his hand. "Oh, you know I love you."

He beamed, "Love you too, Gin."

I smiled and turned to Hermione. "Alright, let's get you figured out."

"A light pink ball gown with matching shoes and a silver tiara. Just a princess, like Kacey." Hermione stared off into the distance.

"You're going to look beautiful." Ron said, taking her hand. "I can't wait, now."

"What?" Hermione said in mock surprise. "You mean now that you know I'll be all dolled up? You still have to help, you know."

"Wait, wait." I said quickly. "We have to figure out costumes for the boys. Harry can wear a suit with a dark blue tie, and Ron can wear a suit with a light pink tie. Jose can wear one with a light blue tie."

"Light pink? That's a girly color!" Ron protested.

"Ron..." Hermione said gently. "It's a dance, and it's formal. It's tradition for guys to wear the same colored tie as their dates dress."

Kacey POV

"Hey, honeybear." Jose walked into the Head common room with a grin.

I smiled back. "Hey, Jose."

Jose was my boyfriend of a year. We had known each other for years, having gone to school together before Hogwarts. He came over and gave me a hug from behind, kissing the top of my head.

"So, what are you guys discussing?"

"A Halloween dance." I said nonchalantly.

"Ah." Jose said with a smile. "Well, I believe there's a certain question I need to ask you."

I raised an eyebrow. "And what question is that?"

"Will you go to this Halloween dance with me?" Jose asked, getting down on one knee.

"Oh, you." I said, pulling him to his feet. "Of course I will."

"Well." Hermione said briskly. "Ron, we better go run this by Professor McGonagall. We'll be back, guys."


	3. Chapter 2: Draco Malfoy

Chapter 2: Draco Malfoy

**A/N: Here's our second chapter! Hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: We are not J.K. Rowling, unfortunately. If we were, I wouldn't be drowning in debt from school loans. **

Notices for the dance went up the next day. The reaction by the student body was typical. Girls got giggly whenever their crushes went by, and boys got nervous. I knew for a fact that this morning during breakfast, Ginny had come close to hexing at least five girls for approaching Harry. I was glad my boyfriend wasn't at such high demand.

Ginny pulled Harry out of the Great Hall soon after they'd gotten there, probably to go wait outside our first class early-which would successfully get them away from most girls. The rest of us met them outside the classroom door about five minutes before it was supposed to start.

"Ah, Sarah, there you are." Ginny said with a grin. "We need to get you a date."

"Ah, really guys, it's okay." Sarah replied nervously, looking at Ginny warily.

"No, no, she's right." I chimed in with a smile.

"Kacey!" Sarah exclaimed. "You're supposed to be on my side with this one!"

"I'm supposed to be concerned with your well-being. And your well-being would be loads better if you had a date to this dance." I replied with a smirk.

Sarah sighed, and luckily for her, the bell rang at that moment and the discussion was postponed for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Sarah POV

I was afaid. Afraid that Ginny and Kacey were going to make me do something embarrassing. For the time being, I was lucky. We were doing Patronuses in class and Professor Weasley, George, was having Harry demonstrate. George was Ginny's brother who had lost his twin in the War.

"Alright. Let's practice." Professor Weasley commanded.

I looked around at everyone and saw that a few were able to do Patronuses already, probably leftover knowledge from Dumbeledore's Army in Harry's fifth year. I thought of something I could use as a happy memory and decided on the day Kacey and I played particularly amusing prank on our brother.

"Expecto Patronum!" I shouted, jumping backwards when something silver actually appeared at the tip of my wand. It was a strong silver tiger, and it disappeared with my shock.

"Woah, Sarah!" Ginny exclaimed. "Not many people get theirs on the first try. In fact, I've never heard of it."

"Expecto Patronum!" Kacey shouted next to me. A silver cat burst from the tip of her wand and I gasped. Hers disappeared almost right away as well.

"Awesome, Kacey!" I grinned, holding my hand up for a high five.

She slapped my hand with hers and leaned forward, a grin on her face. "Remember when I told you that my first kiss with Jose was brilliant?" I nodded, and she giggled. "Well, it was definitely brilliant enough to help me get that on the first try." We both laughed and looked over when Ginny clapped her hands.

"You guys must be the miracle sisters!" Ginny exclaimed. "Both of you got it on your first try. Not even Harry was able to do that."

I grinned and produced my Patronus again, watching as it leaped around me, in it's beautiful silvery form. As I turned to watch it, I felt someone's eyes on me and turned to see the least likely person I thought it would be. Draco Malfoy was staring straight at me, his gaze unwavering, his face unreadable. My eyes met his and after a moment he looked away and I turned around to my friends. My Patronus had disappeared again.

Ginny was watching me with a strange look on her face. "Draco Malfoy was staring at you." She said, puzzled. "Almost like he liked you."

I laughed shakily. "Yeah, right. The day Malfoy asks out a Gryffindor is not coming anytime soon."

Ginny looked over my shoulder at Malfoy again and smirked. "I'm not so sure about that. It looks like finding you a date may have become a whole lot easier."

At lunch, Ginny informed the others of the Malfoy situation while I sat silently.

"He's changed." Hermione said thoughtfully. "I wouldn't mind if you went with him to the dance, you know. I don't think any of us would anymore."

"Guys..." I groaned. "He's not going to ask me."

"Oh, stop pretending you don't think he will. I wouldn't mind if you went with him either." Ginny said with a smile.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever you say, Ginny."

We went to our afternoon classes and it was before dinner when it happened. It appeared Ginny had a little skill in Divination, though I knew for a fact it wasn't on her schedule.

I had told my friends that I would meet them in the Great Hall after I went to the bathroom. I was walking down the hallway when someone stopped me.

"Hey!"

I turned around and found myself face to face with Draco Malfoy.

"Um...Hi." I said.

"Hi. You're...Sarah, right?" Draco asked with a small smile.

"Yeah. And you're Draco Malfoy." I said, giving him a questioning look.

"Yeah." Draco said uneasily. "Coming from your group of friends, I'm sure you've heard a lot about me."

"A little," I said with a smile.

"Well...I was wondering if you'd be interested in going to the Halloween Dance with me?" Draco asked hesitantly.

My cheeks reddened. "Um...yes, Draco, I'd like that." I smiled and he nodded.

"Alright. Well, I'll see you around, Sarah."

I nodded and watched him walk away towards the dungeons. Then I turned and headed to the Great Hall, where my friends and sister were waiting.

Ginny grinned immediately when she saw me. "What happened?" She asked smartly.

"You were right." I said quietly, almost in shock. "He asked me."

"And?" Kacey leaned forward excitedly.

"And...I said yes." I grinned.

Ginny and Kacey squealed and Hermione smiled. "Well, now that we all have dates, we have to find our dresses."

Hermione POV

That weekend was a special Hogsmeade trip specifically for finding costumes for the dance. I had asked Professor McGonagall if Ginny, Kacey, Sarah, and I could go to Diagon Alley and get our dresses specially made and she had agreed as long as we were back by 5. Ron, Jose, and Harry were left to shop in Hogsmeade. Sarah had told Draco earlier that week to wear all black including a black tie.

We apparated from the upper room of the Hogs Head to the Leaky Cauldron and headed down the street to the shop owned by Fleur. It was called _Les Belles Choses_, which meant 'pretty things' in French. When we walked in she came hurrying out.

"'Ermione, Ginnee, 'oo 'ave you brought? What are you doing 'ere?"

"Hi, Fleur." Ginny said, hugging her sister in law. "This is Sarah and Kacey. They're friends from school, they were new this year. We have a Halloween dance next weekend and were wondering if you could help us with our dresses. We already have them planned, we were hoping you could tailor them."

"Aaah, Ginnee, I'd love to." Fleur smiled. "Come on back. Give me a minute to get my measuring tape and then I'll measure you and you can pick out materials."

"Thank you." Sarah and Kacey said at the same time.

"Thanks, Fleur." Ginny and I said.

We went back into the dressing room area and looked at all of the fabrics surrounding us.

"There's every color in every material imaginable here!" Kacey exclaimed. "Let's look for our colors."

We searched quickly and found the materials by the time Fleur came in with her measuring tape and other tailoring tools, her wand holding her hair back in a chignon.

"Oooh, girls, you are fast. Let's measure you all first, and then I'll tailor your dresses."

Though we spent hours at Fleurs shop, it barely seemed to last that long at all. We were always doing something. Fleur had us putting pins in the fabric, cutting lengths, and holding the dresses just to make it easier for her to complete them. We had a brief break for lunch and Bill visited from Gringotts, but Fleur pushed him out after only a half hour, saying we had a lot to do. By 3:30, our dresses were finished and packaged, ready to be taken back in my handy dandy beaded bag.

Next, Fleur took us shoe-shopping and tiara shopping. She knew exactly where to go and we found our things pretty quickly. At 6:45 we all gave her hugs and left to Apparate back to Hogsmeade, thanking her profusely. Somehow we managed to get to my room, where we would be keeping our dresses, without running into our dates.

None of us could wait for next weekend.

**A/N: Please review, we love to hear what you think!**


	4. Chapter 3: Beautiful Girls

Chapter 3: Beautiful Girls

The week passed slow. This was the first week of my life I actually didn't want to go to classes. I know, it's a shock. I was just so excited to go to my first real dance with Ron, the boy of my dreams. From the way he was acting around me, he seemed really nervous and that made the girls and I laugh every time he did something stupid. I thought it was cute.

Finally, it was Saturday. We went to breakfast in jeans and t-shirts and then retreated into my room. We could hear the boys-the Gryffindor ones at least-in the Head Common Room laughing and talking. First, we decided to get into the partying mood and turned on some music. Everyone pooled their favorites, so we had some Jonas Brothers, Weird Sisters, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and Katy Perry.

We had a pretty interesting dance party until Kacey saw the clock.

"Aaaah!" She screeched. "We only have four hours to get ready!"

"Alrite, alrite!" I called with a laugh, turning down the music. "Let's do hair first." We all changed into shorts and tank tops and took out our combined hair supplies. "Let's all do each others in an updo."

"Good idea." Sarah said. "We'll do like a French twist bun with some curls hanging out and bangs clipped back."

"Oooh...that will look pretty." Ginny said with a grin. "Let's get started." We all got into a circle and did each other's hair all at once. When we were done, we all looked gorgeous, with the same basic hairstyle and different variations on it depending on who had done who's hair.

"Alrite, what's next? We all look beautiful, so how can we enhance this beauty even more?"

Sarah POV

"Let's do nails, then get in our dresses and do makeup." Hermione grinned.

"Alright," Ginny said. "Shall we all do French manicures? After all, our hair is up in variations of the French twist, so it only seems right that our nails are French too."

"I agree, but let's paint our French tips in different colors." I suggested.

"Yes!" Kacey exclaimed. "That's a cool idea."

"Let's partner up! I call Kacey!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Alright, that puts us together, Hermione."

Hermione grinned at me in response and we all got started. Another hour later, after several coats of nail polish, we opened up the door a crack to air out the room.

"Who's hungry?" Ginny asked as we air-dried our nails, speeding up the process with our wands.

"I think we all are, but just how are you planning to leave this room without letting the boys see you? They're right outside." I pointed out.

Ginny smiled slyly. "I'm not planning to leave the room. Harry ordered Kreacher to come when I call."

"Kreacher comes when you call?" Hermione asked incredulously. "B-but you don't even live with him! Ron and I have lived in Grimmauld Place since two weeks after the Final Battle and he doesn't come for us."

Ginny shrugged. "I guess we'll have to hit the books on that later. For now, it's time to put on our dresses."

We all pulled on our dresses and did each other's makeup fairly quickly. When done, we had five minutes to spare before we were supposed to meet the boys in the Entrance Hall. Ginny, Kacey, and Hermione had told their dates to meet them in the Entrance Hall instead of the Head common room because Draco couldn't very well come in there and they wanted us all to meet our dates together.

"Alright, are we ready to go?" Hermione asked, slipping on her shoes. We all followed suit and Hermione opened the door slowly to make sure all of the boys were definitely gone. "Let's get down there." She said with a grin.

We took our time walking down and as we were approaching the last staircase, I could see the boys waiting in a corner, Draco standing off to the side.

"Well, girls, let's go." Ginny grinned at us all as we started descending the stairs.

The boys had seen us coming and made their way to the bottom so they met us when we got there. As I walked towards him, Draco walked to meet me and pulled a rose from behind his back.

"Hello, Sarah. You look beautiful." He said quietly.

"Thanks." I said shyly, taking the rose and smelling it. "And thank you for the flower, it smells beautiful. And...you look quite good yourself." I said, admiring the way he looked in all black.

Kacey, Ginny, and Hermione also got flowers from their dates and were exchanging similar pleasantries. I spelled mine to my dorm so it would stay alive on my nightstand and I wouldn't have to worry about it all night.

"Shall we go in?" Draco asked, holding out his arm.

I smiled at him. "Yes."

Kacey POV

Jose handed me a daisy with a low bow and a grin when I reached him, then stood and kissed me on the cheek. "You look gorgeous, Honey-bear."

"Thank you." I said with a grin back.

"Shall we go and dance?" Jose asked.

"Of course." I smiled. "You do know how to dance, right?"

"Oh!" Jose pretended to look offended. "Si, Senorita, of course I do! I can do the salsa and the tango and any other dance you can think of, including the macarena." He grinned cockily at me and I giggled.

"I think everyone can do the macarena, honeybun." I replied, taking his hand but letting him lead me into the Great Hall.

Ginny POV

"Hey, Harry." I said with a smile.

"Hello, love." Harry smiled, taking my hand and kissing it then pulling me in to give me a real kiss. When he pulled away he handed me a boquet of flowers.

"Mmmm, Harry, they're beautiful."

"Just like you." Harry said with a charming grin.

"Oh, shut up." I said, hitting him on the arm.

Harry laughed and put his arm around my waist. "Let's go in."

Hermione POV

"Hi, Ron." I said, kissing my boyfriends cheek.

"Hermione...y-you look gorgeous." Ron said with an awed look.

"Thanks," I said, blushing.

"Well, let's go in. I think they're serving dinner first." Ron said, grabbing my hand.

"Is food all you think about?" I asked with an incredulous look.

"No." Ron looked afronted. "I'm merely stating the facts."

I rolled my eyes as we walked into the Great Hall.


	5. Chapter 4: Travelling

Chapter 4: Traveling

**A/N: Alright, here's the slight twist you've all been waiting for! Enjoy! And please review—we love to know what you think!**

Harry POV

I had made a promise to myself to be civil to Malfoy for Sarah. He was treating her nicer than I would have expected. My test, of course, was having to eat dinner at the same table as him.

We sat and said hi to each other and ordered our meals in the same way we'd ordered them during the Yule Ball. After that, we barely had time to test the level of tolerance we had for each other.

I barely even noticed that we all took our first bites at the same time, but after the commotion that followed, that was my last concern.

I was just about to remark to Ginny that the food was always so good, when there was a huge bolt of lightning, a crash of thunder, and then the world exploded.

Or seemed to. There was a bright flash of light and then we were in a hallway on the other side of the school.

"What did you do?" Ginny screeched.

"Nothing!" We all answered at the same time.

"Calm down!" Hermione exclaimed, always the level-headed one. "Let's figure out what just happened."

"Something just took us across the school, that's what." Ron retorted.

"Someone must have put something in our food." Malfoy said.

"That could be." Hermione replied, thinking.

We went silent when we heard voices.

"Padfoot, that was wicked!" A boy's voice exclaimed. "Did you see his face?"

"Prongs, I thought he was gonna pass out."

"Yeah, well, Snivellus had it coming to him, that Death Eater scum."

"We shouldn't have done that." Another voice sang.

"Is he going to come after us now?" A smaller voice said.

"Don't worry Wormtail, we'll keep him from you."

My face paled as I realized what had happened. "Ginny..." I said hoarsely.

"Oh my Merlin." She whispered.

"We need to get out of here!" Hermione exclaimed.

"POTTER! You're Head Boy, what did you think you were doing?" A girl's voice joined the chaos around them and I froze.

"Mum." I breathed.

"Come on, Potter." Malfoy said next to me. "If no one else, at least you have to hide. You look too much like your father."

But I couldn't move. We had traveled back in time to when my parents were in school.

"Come on, Lils, you know I did it for you. He called you that disgusting name again, and more," my dad said.

I heard my mum groan and then they were around the corner.

"Who are you?" A younger Sirius asked.

"We need to see the Headmaster." Hermione said shakily, bringing a hand to her chest.

"Bloody hell, it's Jam-"

"Shut up, Ron!" Hermione hit her boyfriend on the arm.

Kacey POV

"Who _are_ you?" The boy I presumed to be James Potter asked. He looked just like Harry.

"We need to see the Headmaster." I said firmly, copying Hermione. "Now."

"Alright, calm down. I'm Head Boy, I'll take you there."

"I'm coming." Lily said resolutely. "I'm Head Girl." She added when it looked like James would protest. "You three, go back to Gryffindor Tower."

"Gin..." Harry said weakly from behind me.

"Harry...it's okay." Ginny said, as Harry slid down the wall to a sitting position.

He was really pale.

"Go get Professor Dumbeldore, James. And Remus, get Madame Pomfrey." Lily ordered. She knelt in front of Harry. "Are you okay? Remus is getting the matron now."

Ginny POV

I sat next to Harry on the ground, pulling up my dress to avoid stepping on it. "Harry, it's okay." I whispered. "I know it's a shock, but we'll figure out what's going on."

"I don't believe it." Harry said, staring at a young Lily Evans. Lily looked disconcerted that he was staring at her.

"What seems to be the problem?" Professor Dumbledore approached the group, followed by James, and Hermione jumped to her feet.

"Oh, thank goodness, Professor Dumbledore, we need to speak to you...urgently. But Harry needs water or chocolate or something first."

"Very well, I'll have something waiting in the office. Madame Pomfrey is there as well. Thank you, Mr. Potter, Black, Lupin, Pettigrew, Miss Evans. You may go back to your common rooms."

"Professor..." Lily asked hesitantly. "Is there anything we can do?"

"I will inform you if there is, Miss Evans."

Draco POV

We were in Dumbledore's office, and it hadn't changed a bit.

Harry was having a bar of chocolate and Hermione was explaining what happened and making clear the relationship between Harry, James, and Sirius. She left out Lily, and for good reason. Sarah had a tight hold on my hand.

Dumbledore steepled his hands on his desk. "Well...it seems you've had quite a trial. You've traveled back 21 years, to the time your parents were in school." He evaluated us in our seats. "You came from a school dance and all disappeared during dinner...we have all Gryffindors here?"

"And a Slytherin, Draco." Sarah added.

Dumbledore looked at me and I tried my best not to sneer. It was an automatic reaction by now, but I managed it.

"You're going to have to stay here until I find a way to send you back. It's October here as well, so you can continue with your studies. You're all seventh years?" When we nodded, he deliberated. "I think I'm going to put you with the Head Boy and Girl."

Harry paled.

"Even you, Mr. Malfoy. You're with Gryffindors now, so you'll have to stick with them. I'd like to keep you all together. As for dealing with Mr. Potter, you resemble each other very much...I think I'm going to keep our Head Boy and Girl informed of the situation. Madame Pomfrey, would you go and retrieve our Heads?"

Madame Pomfrey nodded and left quickly.

Dumbledore surveyed us again. "So...does Mr. Potter end up with Miss Evans, then?"

Hermione's eyes widened and Dumbledore chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes. You have your mothers eyes, Mr. Potter."

We waited in silence for James and Lily to come.

No POV

When James and Lily entered a few minutes later, Dumbledore gestured for them to sit down. Then he explained everything, only leaving out the fact that Lily was Harry's mother. He had us introduce ourselves and there was a dark look when Draco said his last name, but Lily admonished James almost immediately.

Then they went to the Head Common Room. When the group entered the Common Room, Remus, Sirius, and Peter were waiting.

"Gin." Harry said under his breath. "Get over here."

Ginny looked at him quizzically and Harry beckoned again. When she stood next to him, he whispered. "I need you to keep me from killing Pettigrew."

Ginny's eyes widened and she made sure they sat as far from Peter as possible.

"So." James said. "Do you want to borrow clothes or something?"

"Oh, yes please." Hermione said gratefully.

A few minutes later, the group was changed and sitting in the Common Room in silence. They introduced themselves again and then the Marauders and Lily were just watching the time travelers, though only James and Lily knew where they came from.

"Well, this is awkward." Jose said, and everybody laughed nervously.

"Well, I guess we can just learn about each other...what we like and everything..." Hermione trailed off as everybody looked at her and she blushed.

"That's a good idea." Sirius smiled. "I'm Sirius Black, and I like girls." He winked at Ginny.

"Hey," Harry said with a smile. "That's my girlfriend you're looking at."

"Hey," Sirius replied with a grin. "I've stolen people's girlfriends before."

Ginny smiled sweetly. "Yes, but if you know what's good for you, you won't even try to make a move on me."

"What? Is your boyfriend gonna beat me up?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.

The time travelers burst into laughter.

"I could take you down in two seconds, but no." Harry said with a grin.

"Ever heard of the Bat-Bogey Hex?" Draco asked. "Let's hope you never do."

"It's Ginny's signature hex." Ron shuddered.

"It's even taken down a Death Eater or two." Ginny said with another sweet smile.

"I hope you meet my cousins one day." Sirius said.

Harry squeezed Ginny's hand and Draco snorted.

"So...I don't want to bring the room to an uncomfortable level or anything...but why do you, Harry, look just like James?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow.

Everyone was silent as Harry appraised everyone in the room, his gaze on Peter an unsettlingly long time, before he finally spoke.

"We're from 21 years in the future. He's my dad." Harry said.

Lily stared at James, Remus stared at Harry, Peter looked back and forth between the two, and Sirius burst out laughing.

"James Potter, Marauder extraordinaire, star Quidditch player, ex-player, infatuated with a girl he may never have, is a father?" Sirius asked incredulously. "I don't believe it."

"Believe it." Harry laughed. "It's true."

"And he passed his quidditch playing, red-head loving, trouble-making genes on." Ginny grinned.

"Yeah, but his red-head loves him back." Sirius nodded to Ginny.

"Shut up, Sirius." James growled, turning to Harry. "You're a Quidditch player?"

"Yeah." Harry replied.

"Are you good?"

"I'm alright."

"Oh, shut up, Harry." Ginny said with a smile. "He could play for a national team if he wanted. He made the team in his first year. He's excellent."

"In your first year? That's not even allowed."

"Potter did a lot of things that weren't allowed." Draco said in a low voice.

"Draco here's actually the reason I got on the team." Harry said, changing the subject and telling the story.

"Oh-ho!" Sirius yelped. "I hope you turned out better than my brother will."

Draco didn't reply.

"So..." Lily started. "Why don't you tell us some more stories of when you went to school?"

"I've got one." Ginny said with a grin at Harry, who groaned.

"I already admitted that I was an idiot, do you have to tell everyone we meet?" he exclaimed.

"I wouldn't be Ginny Weasley if I didn't." Ginny smiled impishly. "So. When I met Harry, I had a crush on him immediately. I embarrassed myself countless times in front of him. Of course, I was his best mates sister," she indicated Ron, "so it's not like he noticed me. A few years later, in my third year, Harry's fourth, Hermione gave me some advice to start being myself with him and maybe he'd see me then. I took her advice, and he didn't notice me. Instead, I fell in love with him." She grabbed Harry's hand, ignoring his red face. "Two years later, he started to see me, but I had a boyfriend."

"Then," Harry cut in, "they broke up and I got banned from the last Quidditch match, for casting a curse that I _didn't know the outcome of."_ He didn't look at Draco, but his meaning was clear. "When I came back into the common room, I was really nervous about the outcome of the match. I saw Ginny running towards me right away, with this blazing and happy look on her face, and so I just kissed her. It was a few months later when I realized I loved her, but circumstances prevented me from telling her until almost eight months after that."

"Circumstances." Ginny snorted. When Harry looked at her in mild annoyance she smiled and rolled her eyes. "I know, I understand." She said.

"That's really romantic." Lily said with a dreamy look in her eyes. "How did you know you loved her?"

"I was away from her for a long time. It was during that time that I realized it."

Lily smiled softly and then turned to Ginny, a knowing look in her eye. "Who are your mother and father?"

"My mum's name was Molly Prewitt, now Weasley, and Dad's Arthur Weasley."

Lily grinned. "I knew them. Molly was Head Girl during my first year and Arthur was a prefect."

"And are you a Quidditch player?" James asked. He had a seemingly disinterested look on his face, but everyone in the room knew he thought the only girl right for his son would be a Quidditch player.

"Yeah." Ginny said with a grin. "I come from a family of Quidditch players. Ron plays Quidditch. Dad played Quidditch. And all my other brothers play Quidditch...except Percy."

"Are your brothers all older? I thought I heard that Molly had three kids already and is pregnant with twins?"

"Yeah, they're older. And Bill, Charlie, and Percy are the three kids. She must be pregnant with Fred and George, who will actually grow up to carry on the prank legacy of the Marauders." Ginny said wryly.

"Harry, I like her." James said.

Harry grinned. "I'm glad you approve."

"Well," Lily said, "I'm going to turn in for the night. Ginny, Hermione, Sarah, and Kacey, just come on in when you're ready to turn in. I'm sure you've had a long day."

Ginny stood up. "I think I'm going to turn in, too." She turned around and kissed Harry and, ignoring Sirius' wolf-whistle, murmured, "Love you."

"Love you, too, Gin." Harry replied with a grin.

Ginny winked and as she walked by Sirius with Lily towards Lily's room, hit her soon-to-be father-in-laws best friend on the back of the head.

"Hey!" He protested and then turned towards Harry. "Your girlfriend just hit me!"

"I know." Harry said smugly.

"And you aren't going to say anything to her?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"Good job, honey." Harry called after his girlfriend.

"Yeah, nice one, sis." Ron called after Ginny as well. Then he, Harry, and Jose burst into laughter. James, Remus, and Peter followed suit. Even Draco and Lily had small smiles on their faces, and Sarah, Kacey, and Hermione were at least trying to hold in their laughter. Sirius just looked disgruntled.

"You know what?" Hermione said. "I think Sarah, Kacey, and I are going to turn in as well." They each stood and kissed their respective boyfriends, Sarah kissing Draco on the cheek. Then they followed Lily and Ginny.

"We should probably get back to the common room, Sirius and Peter." Remus said, looking at his watch.

Sirius groaned and stood and he and Peter left the Head dorm after yelling goodbye to James. Unbeknownst to them, Remus stayed behind, waiting for Harry.

"James." Jose started. "I think we're all ready to hit the hay, too."

James nodded. "Alright, I'll lend you guys pajamas."

He left and Ron, Draco, and Jose followed.

Harry stayed sitting on the couch, staring at the place they disappeared. He couldn't believe he was actually meeting them. Any of them. He never thought he would see them ever again.

"Harry?"

Harry jumped to his feet with his wand whipped out at the tentative voice. Remus stood there with his hands up and Harry lowered his wand, apologizing.

"Sorry for sneaking up on you." Remus said. "I just wanted to ask a question."

"What kind of question?" Ginny sang quietly from behind him, causing him to jump. "Sorry." She said, but he could tell she didn't mean it. "It was just payback for Harry. Now, what's your question?"

Remus looked questioningly at Harry, and Harry gave him a look back. "I'll just tell her anyway." He stated.

"Alright...is Lily your mother?"

Harry's eyes widened in shock. "What-how-who-?" He stammered.

Remus smiled softly. "You have her eyes."

Harry's laugh was strained. "You'll say the exact same thing to me in about fifteen years." He said wryly. "Yes, Lily's my mum."

Remus nodded. "There's something you're not telling us, isn't there?"

Ginny hugged Harry from the side as he made eye contact with Remus. The look in his eyes was so sad that Remus took a step backwards.

"Yeah." He said heavily.

"Can you tell me?" Remus asked hesitantly.

Harry stared at Remus for a long moment.

"Harry..." Ginny said softly. "You don't have to."

Harry glanced at Ginny, then looked back at Remus. "Back in my time...you were all killed in the war."

Remus nodded slowly. "You looked like you had seen a ghost when we walked around the corner."

Harry laughed shortly. "That's because I had."

"Remus, did you think we would forget about you?!" Sirius called. Remus jumped, stared at Harry a moment longer and then turned to go.

"Harry, come on. Stop snogging my sister and come to bed!" Ron called in a disgruntled voice.

"What was that, Ron? Did you say start? Okay." Harry kissed Ginny, pulling her close to him, and only stopped when Ron came out of James' room and cleared his throat.

"Really, mate? Did you have to?"

"Of course he did." Ginny smiled. She kissed him one more time, and with a wink, went off to Lily's room.

"I love you!" Harry called after her.

Ginny waved over her shoulder and then Harry turned to Ron. "Just shut up already." Ron pushed Harry as he walked by and Harry pushed him back, whispering, "Remus knows."


	6. Chapter 5: Love and War

Chapter 5: Love and War

It was breakfast the next morning and the Marauders, Lily, and the time travelers had found themselves at one end of Gryffindor table, much to Draco's dismay. James was telling them stories of past pranks, most of them involving the humiliation of Slytherins.

"And so then, Remus and I waved our wands under the table, and the potions took effect, turning every Slytherin that had already eaten gold, with red hair. They had to be Gryffindors until they complimented someone of another house and meant the compliment." James explained with a laugh.

"And you told the House Elves to help you?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Obviously." Sirius exclaimed. "You know, they 'live to serve' and all that." Sirius didn't seem to realize the danger of his words as Hermione bristled.

"Well, that doesn't mean you can take advantage of them!" Hermione snapped. "House Elves are creatures too! They have feelings, and they need wages and days off and-!"

Sirius burst out laughing. "Do you know what they would do if you tried to offer them wages? They would probably never want to see you again!"

"I've convinced a few already in my time." Hermione sat up straight.

"Yeah, one that was certifiably insane." Ron grumbled.

"Funny." Hermione said sternly. "Last time I checked that was the one who saved us all from getting killed at Malfoy Manor."

Draco winced and James whipped his head to him. "Malfoy? As in this guy?"

"Yes and no." Harry said hastily. "James-Dad, tell us about another prank."

James thought for a minute. "Hmmm...Hard to find one that doesn't bring back bad memories..." He chanced a glance at Lily.

"You mean one's that don't involve Snape?" Lily asked smartly, staring James down.

James looked at her and then nodded.

"What about the time...Oh...never mind." Remus thought as well.

"Oh!" Surius exclaimed. "What about the time we enchanted the suits of armour?"

"Yes!" James said excitedly. "We've done that twice so far. Once, in our second year, we had them hum the Darth Vader theme whenever Lucius Malfoy walked by." Draco choked on his pumpkin juice.

"Yeah," Peter chimed in.

Lily looked at them all incredulously. "How do you even know who Darth Vader is? He's a Muggle character."

"Sirius and I found a Muggle picture show once. We checked it out and it was pretty cool, so we brought Remus and Peter back to see the movie again." James explained, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"And the other time..." Sirius began. "We enchanted a couple to follow Minnie around and serenade her."

"Minnie?" Hermione asked.

"McGonagall." Remus said dismissively. "He's been calling her that since second year when he found out what her first name was."

"Oh!" Peter exclaimed. "And then the one where we slipped potions in Lucius Malfoy and his cronies pumpkin juice and they all grew beards and white hair...not that Lucius needed any help in that area."

"No offense to you, Draco." Remus added.

"None taken." Draco said quietly.

"What about some Lily pranks?" Sirius said slyly.

"Uh Sirius...I'm gonna say no..." James said hesitantly.

"Oh, you don't want to tell them?" Lily asked. "Then I will. There was the time they made my food explode in my face...um, there's definitely more. There was also the time they stole all my books and parchment and quills and had Peeves hide it so they didn't have to lie to me when I asked where it was...they honestly didn't know." Lily gave a short and humorless laugh. "Do you want to know where it was? I never found out. I found it two days later under my bed."

"I told him to put it back." James said.

"Really? So, it wasn't your idea to have him hide them in the first place?" Lily snapped.

"Actually it was mine." Sirius exclaimed, then stood and bolted over to his newest girl at the Ravenclaw table.

"I did go along with it...pretty quickly." James consented.

"Go along with it!" Lily waved her hand at James. "So you didn't help plan it in any way?"

"Look, Lily, it was nothing personal, your stuff was sitting there and we were bored."

"Oh? You were bored? Like all the times you've been bored and pranked Severus? Really? So was I going to be your next 'Snivellus'?"

"Not even close, Lily, not even close." James snapped, frustrated.

"Well then what the hell am I? Just someone to be nice to when you want something, like a date? I'm not gonna be that girl!" Lily jumped out of her seat and stomped off.

James ran after her, pulling the Map out of his pocket to see where she was going. Everyone else in their group started to get up, but Remus called them off. James burst into the empty classroom, angry as all get out.

"Don't you just randomly accuse me of something that's completely wrong and then run away!" He yelled.

Lily spun around. "Completely _wrong_, James? Over your time at Hogwarts, you've gone out with almost every girl within three years of you that's not in Slytherin. During and in between that time, you asked me out constantly. What am I supposed to think? Now, you're being all nice to me as if nothing has ever happened to make me hate you!"

"Merlin, Lily, you can't even see what's right in front of you! The only reason I went out with those girls was to forget you! I've been in love with you since the first time I talked to you! And then I pranked 'Snivellus' and then you hated me, and I kept trying to win you over, but I have no clue how anymore! You hate me, and I thought I hated you, and then I realized, this is not even close to hate! Lily, all I have ever asked for is one chance, and you won't even give me that, but you know what? I'm not gonna try anymore. Come see me if you feel like breaking my heart just one more time!" James finished with a snap, turning on his heel and leaving Lily sitting there in shock.

James closed the portrait hole behind him with a loud bang, causing a protest from the portrait's occupant. Everyone in the head common room jumped as James stomped to his room, and slammed the door closed.

Remus gave Harry a questioning look and he shook his head quickly, looking horrified. Sirius stood up. "I'll talk to him."

"Gin..." Harry said. "Come here, please." Ginny sat next to Harry and grabbed his hand.

"It does happen." She whispered. "Remus and Sirius said it does, in their seventh year."

Everyone looked up again as the portrait hole opened and Lily walked in, tears running down her face. She looked at everyone and her eyes fell on Ginny. "Ginny...can I talk to you?" She whispered.

Ginny nodded, kissed Harry on the cheek and followed Lily into her room. Lily sat on her bed and stared at the wall for a moment, before her gaze locked on Ginny, surprisingly piercing.

"Well? James is Harry's father. So who's his mother?"

"I can't tell you." Ginny said, looking regretful. "What did he say to you?"

"He basically said that he loved me but was giving up because I haven't given him a chance."

"Well, do you want to give him a chance?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know!" Lily exclaimed. "He's been annoying me and tormenting me since my first year, and I thought I hated him, but I don't know anymore!"

"Then why don't you take the chance and let yourself figure out what that unknown feeling is?"

"Because it's scary." Lily whispered. "It's scary taking that one step when you know it could end with you in pieces or feeling more full than you've ever been."

"Well, if you even have a chance of finding the one you're meant for, then why wouldn't you take it? I did." Ginny shrugged.

Lily stood up. "Get Sirius out of there."

Ginny sauntered out of Lily's room, calling, "Black, your girlfriend wants to see you outside," as she passed James' room. Sirius came out a second later and Lily slipped inside, closing the door behind her. Harry was staring at the doorway when Ginny came back into the Common Room and she gave him a grin, to which he looked relieved.

When she sat back down next to him, he leaned over with a wry smile. "It's a little weird to think of you playing matchmaker with my parents," he murmured, and Ginny giggled.

Lily closed the door of James' room behind her and stood with her back to it. James turned around and jumped when he saw her there.

"What?" James asked.

Lily stared at him, hesitated, then crossed the room and kissed him. James responded almost immediately, and after a moment, he pulled away with wide eyes.

"What the hell?" he asked, shocked.

Lily looked up at him with a spark in her eye. "You have one chance." She said with a small smile.

"I'll take it." James said, pulling her close and kissing her again.

**A/N: Please Review!**


	7. Chapter 6: Planning and Suspicion

Chapter 6: Planning and Suspicion

The months passed and soon it was coming up on Christmas time. Lily and James were happy together, and though they ran into a few problems, their friends soon snapped them out of it and they got back together stronger than ever. Professor Dumbledore gave them all a surprise when he announced a Christmas Ball to be held on Christmas Eve. Ginny, Hermione, Sarah, Kacey, and Lily were asked immediately by their boyfriends and were psyched, except for one small detail.

"What if this ball sends us back?" Draco asked apprehensively. They were all sitting in the Head Common Room helping James and Lily with decoration plans.

"I don't think it will." Hermione said without looking up from the parchment she was taking notes on.

"What are you doing over there?" Ron asked.

"I'm writing down a list of things related to Christmas and possible ways to include them in the decorations." Hermione responded, again without looking up.

"Should we have a theme?" Lily asked, looking at James.

"I don't care." James said. "As long as you're wearing a dress and looking more gorgeous than usual, I don't care what happens at that ball."

Lily blushed and shook her head. "Stop it, you. We're supposed to be planning the ball, here."

"Fine." James said. "Let's say you can wear Muggle or wizard clothes, but the guys have to wear black, white, or silver and the girls have to wear Christmas colors. Like gold, silver, red, white, and green, and I guess blue. You would look gorgeous in gold."

"Don't listen to him, Lily, he doesn't know what he's talking about. I had to wear a gold bridesmaid dress and I looked hideous." Ginny said from where she was sitting in Harry's lap and reading an old witch fashion magazine. "Witch fashion hasn't changed much." She remarked.

"It looked gorgeous on you, Ginny. Stop trying to tell people otherwise." Harry said absently, looking at the magazine over Ginny's shoulder.

"I'll have to try it on, obviously." Lily said, rolling her eyes. "You never can trust the word of the boyfriend."

"Hey!" James exclaimed. "I wouldn't say you look gorgeous if you didn't."

"You would probably say your girlfriend looked gorgeous in anything." Sarah piped up. "It's this thing with guys that anytime they see their girl, they think she looks amazing. It doesn't matter what she's wearing, or whether the outfit clashes with her hair or not. They take in the good parts of the look and only see that. For the most part."

"I doubt it." Kacey said. "Guys are gonna notice if you look lovely in something."

"You're both right." Remus said, looking up from his Transfiguration essay. "If the shape of the dress makes the girl look horrible, he'll focus on the color, and say that looks great on you. If the color clashes, they'll focus on a good shape, and say that you look great."

"How about we just stick with the fact that girls are confusing to boys, and boys are mostly confusing to girls?" Ron asked.

"He has a point." Hermione said smugly. "Many times girls can figure out what's on their boyfriends mind, but boys can't for the life of them figure out girls. Maybe 1 boy in every 1000 understand girls, and half the time that's because they're gay. I read it last week in one of those magazines Ginny keeps reading."

"Oh, I do remember that." Ginny said.

"I have successfully lined up a date for the ball." Sirius said, entering the Common Room with a flourish. "And let me tell you, is she hot."

"Every girl you'll ever go out with is considered hot, Sirius." Remus said, this time without looking up from his essay.

"There's one boy that's easy to understand." Kacey said. "Focused on the body, not the mind or personality."

Ginny, Hermione, Lily, and Sarah laughed.

"It couldn't be more true." Lily exclaimed with grin. "You've known him for two months, and you've already got him figured out."

"Who did you ask?" James asked.

"That sixth year Ravenclaw you went out with two years ago, Celeste." Sirius grinned.

James rolled his eyes, but looked partly relieved. "Oh. You made it sound like you were going with someone else. Celeste is your girlfriend, isn't it a given that you're going with her?"

"Not necessarily. Most girls will jump at the chance to go out with a Marauder. I might have gotten a better offer," Sirius replied with a roguish grin.

Lily snorted. "You're a pig," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Just kidding, my Lilyflower," Sirius said sweetly.

"Not yours. Mine," James scolded lightly. Lily hid her smile behind her hand.

"So did you come up with the idea to have a legacy just to get girls?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not at all." James replied, cutting Sirius off, for his answer was surely to be in the affirmative. "We were an odd group from the beginning. The Pureblood from the good family, the rebelling Pureblood from the bad family, the one from the broken household, and the one who got on the wrong side of a monster. We wanted to leave something behind, and right now? Everybody knows our names, so we've succeeded so far."

"Who got on the wrong side of a monster?" Peter asked. The other three Marauders looked at him incredulously.

"Remus." Harry answered in a low voice. "Remus did."

"Oh, right, he's a-"

"Shut up!" James growled. "You idiot, that's not something you say aloud."

"What isn't?" Lily asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Umm..." James trailed off, looking helplessly at Lily.

"We all already know." Harry remarked softly to Remus, who sighed.

"I'm a werewolf. My dad angered a brutal wolf years ago and he attacked me." Remus said firmly.

"Oh, Remus." Lily said, looking up at him. "Moony...that's where your nickname comes from." Then she turned to James and narrowed her eyes. "Do I want to know where yours came from?"

"Not right now, you don't." James said. "I'll tell you later." Lily stared at him for another minute and then nodded.

"Alright, anyway," Lily said, "Let's see your list, Hermione." When Hermione handed it over, Lily's eyes widened. "James, she's done more work than you and she doesn't even go to school in this time."

"She's Head Girl in our time, too." Ginny said. "And she's in the same situation, Ron never does anything either."

"Hey!" Ron protested. "I patrol."

"Yeah, and that's about it." Ginny rolled her eyes.

"It's true." Kacey said. "Sarah, Ginny, and I do more than he does and only Ginny's a prefect."

"They're right, Ron." Hermione said amusedly. "And half the time, you're lucky I love you."

"Well, maybe I'll try to help more when we go back." Ron said defiantly.

"At this rate, we won't get back by the end of the school year." Ginny said, rolling her eyes.

"Do you think they realize we're gone? Or will we go back on the same day we left?" Draco asked.

"It depends." Hermione said with a sigh. "I've been doing research, and I can't even find the reason we got sent here."

"I don't know if there was a specific reason, maybe it was supposed to be a prank." Lily remarked. "I have a feeling, though, that you might not get back on the same day you left."

"Mum is going to freak out." Ginny said softly. "And I mean freak. I wouldn't be surprised if she curses McGonagall for letting it happen."

"Tell me what happened again." James said contemplatively.

"We were eating at the feast at the ball and we each took a bite and ended up here." Harry said briefly.

"Have you looked in potions books?" James asked, standing and starting to pace.

"Yeah, why, do you know something?" Ginny asked, leaning forward.

"I think it's a powder. There's a book somewhere, it's not at the school library, though, and it's about potions that, with a spell, turn to powder. I flipped through it once, to find some pranks, but I think I remember something about a powder that sends people back. It was like a reliving thing." James explained. "I don't know why they would want you to relive this particular year though."

"I do." Harry said softly. "But I don't know why they want me to see it in the first place. And, more importantly, I don't know who's done it. I made a lot of enemies throughout my life."

"It could be someone giving you a sort of gift, or it could be a fake-out. Someone may have needed you gone to do what they had to." Sarah guessed.

"Exactly." Harry agreed.

"Well, let's focus on the dance for now." Ginny said. "We'll figure out what happened after New Years. This is not a fun topic, considering the alternatives."

"Okay. Ginny's right." Lily said, after being silent for a while.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Review please! **


	8. Chapter 7: Finding the Perfect Dress

Chapter 7: Finding the Perfect Dress

**A/N:** **Here's our next chapter!**

**Also, just a note to the reader who left a review claiming that Hermione would not be okay with Draco being around and also stating that he was a violent criminal, we think that is a matter of opinion. Draco never directly identified any of the Trio at Malfoy Manor, and also failed to kill Dumbledore. We see him more as a boy who got caught up in his father's ideology and discovered it was not as glamorous as he thought it would be, and so regretted his involvement. We were never given the end of Draco's story in canon, so how he ended up and what kind of person his experiences made him into is a matter up for debate. However, we'd prefer not to have that debate through our story. We used our opinion to write it, and if you don't have the same opinion, or dislike some of our characterization of some of Rowling's characters, you don't have to continue reading. Thank you.**

**We hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Just like back in present day, the week before the dance there was a Hogsmeade day especially put aside for shopping for it. The girls were leaving early to try and hit the stores before the rest of the school got there.

"Come on, you guys. We have to get there soon so we can get all of the best picks." Hermione called down the hall.

"I'm ready." Lily said, coming out of her room in yoga pants and a sweatshirt. They had all decided to dress comfortably, seeing as they would be trying on dresses for half of the day.

Sarah and Kacey followed Lily out of her room, half dragging Ginny.

"I'm tired." she whined. "Why do we have to go so early?"

"Don't you want to find a good dress and look great for Harry?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, but I don't need to do that at the crack of dawn." Ginny replied, wiping her eyes.

"Suck it up." Kacey said. "And let's go. Half of the school is going to be there, so we better get going."

"Alright." Ginny said. "Let's head to the kitchens and grab some orange juice and muffins."

"The kitchens?" Lily asked. "We're not allowed down there."

"Oh, give it a rest." Ginny said, leading the way down the stairs. "I bet you ten Galleons the Marauders knew where the kitchens were in their first year, and I myself? I've been going there since my third year."

"But that's the Marauders!" Lily protested.

"And I'm a soon to be Marauder daughter-in-law. I know, I know." Ginny waved her off.

"Ginny! Are you saying Harry proposed?"

"Not yet he didn't." Ginny threw a smug grin over her shoulder.

"Ginny, we can't just go asking the house elves for everything. We should go to breakfast like normal people." Hermione said.

"Hermione, none of us want to hear about S.P.E.W. right now." Ginny said, coming up in front of the picture of the fruit bowl and tickling the pear. Then she opened the door and was bombarded by several elves.

"What can we do for you, Miss?"

"Good morning." Ginny smiled. "We'd like five muffins and five glasses of orange juice, please."

"Of course." The elf bowed, and barely two seconds later, five more elves were walking up carrying a tray with their food on it.

"Thank you." Ginny said, passing their breakfast around. "Now, let's go girls."

The five girls headed up the stairs and started on the path to Hogsmeade.

"That was the fastest service ever!" Lily exclaimed.

"Yes, it was." Ginny said with a grin. "I love house elves."

"I wonder if things happen that fast at James' house." Lily remarked. "He was talking to me the other day about how at Potter Manor...I know, I know, he's got a manor named after him, but anyway, at Potter Manor, they have five house elves."

"There's a Potter manor?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah." Lily said. "Doesn't Harry live there?"

"Um..oh, yeah." Ginny said, stumbling over her words. "Of course..."

Hermione gave Ginny a look that said, 'don't be so obvious,' and Ginny nodded, but it was too late.

"He doesn't live there, does he?" Lily asked, a sad look on her face.

"No." Ginny said softly. "I don't know why...maybe he's not supposed to inherit it until a certain age."

"Do you think it got destroyed?" Lily asked quietly.

"If it did, he would still have the property."

"Why don't you ask James about the magic involving it? He would know if anything needs to happen before it gets passed down," Kacey said wisely.

"Good idea," Lily said, before going silent.

"Alright, girls." Sarah said, as they stopped in front of a shop called Madame Josephine's Boutique. "Here goes."

Kacey grabbed the door and held it open for the group. The shop was a little busy, but in the next hour it was sure to fill up quickly. The girls immediately found the racks with their sizes on them, and just started pulling dresses off, whichever ones they liked. When they each had at least seven in their arms, they headed to the dressing rooms. To take up less room, they claimed one dressing room and took turns trying on dresses and getting feedback. Of course, the inconvenient part of that was that all of the friends may have loved a dress, but the actual wearer didn't. A few times, one girl ended up giving a dress to another to try on. Eventually, after spending at least two and a half hours in the store, they found dresses. The average reaction for the picked dress was, "Oh, that's the one."

"Alright." Ginny said. "Are we all ready to check out? We all have our gorgeous dresses to wear next week?"

"Yes." Sarah and Kacey said excitedly.

"And we all looked amazing trying them on." Lily grinned. "Imagine how we'll look with our hair and makeup done, and imagine what the boys will say."

"Imagining." Sarah sang, spinning around. The girls managed to check out surprisingly quickly by pooling their money and making one big purchase.

"Now..." Hermione said, "To the shoe store."

"Oh boy." Sarah said. "This is gonna be a problem. I love shoes."

"Are you going to go home with five inch heels?" Kacey teased. Sarah sighed as she thought of all the shoe possibilities. "Sarah, snap out of it. I don't think Draco would appreciate it if you came to the ball taller than him!" Kacey laughed.

"That doesn't mean I can't dream." Sarah said, opening the door to the shoe store, called Daniella's Shoes.

Shoe shopping only took about a half hour, and as predicted, Sarah took the longest time in deciding. In the end her final pick was between five inch black stilettos and a pair of a more reasonable height, by maybe two inches. The debate only ended when Kacey took the stiletto's and hid them, annoying Sarah but allowing her to admit that the shorter heel was probably the better way to go.

By that time, it was time to meet the boys for lunch. Lily led the way to the Three Broomsticks and walked across the main dining room to a large table in the corner. The girls piled their dresses, covered in concealment charms and packaged carefully, on one of the chairs, and stacked the shoe boxes on the floor next to them. By the time that was done, the boys were making their way across the floor towards them.


	9. Chapter 8: Snapshots of the Future

Chapter 8: Snapshots of the Future

"So, do I get to see your dress?" Harry asked with a grin, kissing Ginny on the cheek.

"No." Ginny admonished, pulling him into the seat next to hers. "Nice try, handsome." Then the girls went around the table and told their dates what color ties they should be wearing.

"You're going to look gorgeous." Harry said with a smile.

"Why, thank you." Ginny grinned.

"Lils, I can't wait to take you to our first dance together," James said with a grin. Lily smiled back.

When Madame Rosemary, Madame Rosmerta's mother, came to the table, the group ordered a butterbeer and sandwich each.

Madame Rosemary nodded with a smile. "It'll be up before you know it."

"So..."Jose spoke. "Do your dances work the same way as ours do?"

"I don't know." Remus replied. "It seems so, so far. All you future guys have mentioned the same things we have to get ready."

"True, true." Jose responded.

"Harry..." James began hesitantly. "Didn't you say you know why someone would have sent you back to this year?"

"I did." Harry replied cautiously, looking at his and Ginny's hands, clasped on the table.

"What reason is that?" James asked.

Harry looked around at everyone. Their eyes were focused on him and he shook his head. "I can't say. But I may be wrong. The reason I'm thinking of...mostly pertains to only me, and eight of us came back...three of which I've never met before September, and one of which I used to hate. So, I guess I thought I knew the reason, but I don't know for sure. The reason I'm most worried about is that someone wanted me away so they could carry out plans without me stopping them."

"I think that's over, though, Harry." Ginny said, squeezing his hand.

"But, you don't know that. Nobody knows that." Harry protested.

"Harry, your job was to get rid of Voldemort. And you did that. He's dead and gone. And if any stupid Death Eaters decide to make another move, let the Aurors deal with it." Ron said firmly from across the table.

"Ron, I'm not going to get any peace if they do make a move until I do something. And besides, they'll want revenge on me."

"You have a point, I guess. You're almost seen as the new Dumbledore, and you killed their master." Ron snorted.

"Ron!" Hermione snapped. "You idiot! We aren't supposed to give the future away!"

Lily and the Marauders were all staring at Harry with their mouths open.

"You got rid of Voldemort?" Lily asked in a hushed voice.

"How old are you?" James demanded.

"I turned eighteen in July." Harry said. "And yes. I did get rid of Voldemort, a few months before my eighteenth birthday."

"Wow..." Sirius said. "You're a bigshot in your time, aren't you?"

"Unfortunately." Harry said.

"That makes you a hero! You must be so famous!" Sirius exclaimed. "Isn't that awesome? Do you get anything you want?"

Harry snapped his head up. "I didn't want to be the hero. I never wanted to be the hero. And yeah..." Harry said bitterly. "I'd get everything I want if I pulled the Harry Potter card. And, it's not awesome. Sucks for Ginny, actually. The paparazzi are always on my tail, trying to get the next big story for the papers. We have no privacy."

"Harry...I don't care what they write about me." Ginny murmured to him.

"Yeah, well...I care. Anyway, let's get off this subject." Harry muttered.

"No." Ginny said, grabbing Harry's chin in her hand and turning his head to face hers. He met her eyes, surprised. "We're not getting off of this subject until you get your head out of your arse. They wouldn't have sent us back to this particular time if they wanted to get rid of us. Harry, they would have sent us back to a worse time, something that would bring back bad memories...something that would make it hard for us to fight when we did return."

"Yeah." Ron piped up. "Like the first time the Chamber of Secrets was opened."

Ginny turned on Ron, but Harry spoke before she could. "Shut it, Ron. Not the picture I need in my head right now."

"The Chamber of Secrets?" Lily asked. "But, that's a legend."

"No." Harry said shortly. "It's not." Then he turned to Ginny.

"I get why Harry's feeling this way." Kacey said softly.

"Same." Sarah piped up. "If his first idea is not valid because of how many of us got sent back..."

"Then the second idea must be it." Kacey finished for her.

"Exactly." Harry said.

"I understand." Ginny said quietly. "But, at least for the next week, let's just forget about why we're here and have fun." She gave him a smile, and he smiled back.

"All right." Harry gave his girlfriend a look. "But only for you."

"Aww..." Jose exclaimed. "And the cheesy couple is back."

"Oh, shut up." Ginny said, smacking Jose's arm.

"Well..." Lily started.

"Harry." Remus said slowly. "Why were you so short with Lily about the Chamber of Secrets?"

"I didn't mean to be." Harry gave Lily an apologetic look. "It's kind of a touchy subject...since...well, I guess it always has been, I just didn't realize why, for me. For Ginny...well, the second time it was opened, in my second year, a reincarnation of sorts of Voldemort took her into the Chamber."

"I thought you said you defeated Voldemort when you were almost eighteen? How could there be a reincarnation of him when you were twelve?" James asked.

"Damn." Harry said. "He was vanquished when I was a baby, and then he came back for real in my fourth year. The reincarnation was merely a memory and I destroyed the source before he could come back completely to life."

"So you saved Ginny from a reincarnation of Voldemort when you were twelve?" Lily asked.

"Not to mention a basilisk." Hermione added absently. "He killed that with Gryffindor's sword."

Harry turned on Hermione. "Aren't you supposed to be the one preaching about how we shouldn't be giving away the future?" Hermione grinned impishly and Harry shook his head disbelievingly. "You're turning more and more into Ginny as the days go by." Hermione and Ginny laughed.

"Harry!" Lily exclaimed, a look of shock on her face."You killed a basilisk with Gryffindor's sword, without looking it in the eye, and then destroyed a reincarnation of Voldemort when you were twelve!?"

"He did that with a basilisk fang that he pulled out of his arm." Hermione said with a grin. Harry let his head fall on the table in defeat.

"But...basilisk venom is poisonous!" Lily cried. "You should be dead!"

"I should have been dead loads of times," Harry said flatly. "Fawkes, Dumbledore's pheonix, saved me. He also blinded the basilisk before the real fight began." Harry said, picking his head up.

"You were TWELVE!" Lily's voice grew into a yell, and people turned to look at the commotion.

"Shh..." Ginny said with a laugh. "He did it alone, too."

"What did your parents say?"

Harry sighed, looked at Ginny and Hermione and then turned back to his mum. "Something pretty similar to what you just did."

Ron snorted. "I'd say the reaction was exactly the same. If you reacted this way now, after you know he's alive and whole, I wonder how you would have reacted when it actually happened."

Everyone at the table turned to face Ron, James and Lily with looks of shock on their faces, and Hermione looked livid. Harry looked around at everyone, glaring at Ron, then stood abruptly and left the pub.

Ginny sighed. "I'll talk to him." She stood and ran after her boyfriend, making sure to slap Ron on the head as she went by.

"Ronald Weasley, you complete prat! You idiot! You come into the past with one rule! ONE RULE! Don't give away the future. And what do you do? You give away the one thing that Harry was actually making a huge effort to keep secret!" Hermione shrieked, taking a book from her bag and hitting him on the shoulder.

"Chill out, Hermione! It's not going to do anything drastic!" Ron snapped back. "Do you think I meant to? The way she said it was so ironic, it just slipped out!"

"Ugh!" Hermione said frustratedly. "Unfortunately, that's not a good thing. How do you think we found out half of the things in our first year to try and save the Sorcerer's Stone?! Because the facts just 'slipped out' of Hagrid's mouth!"

"Both of you, shut up!" Lily screeched. "You're completely bent out of shape about something that you gave away that I'm not even sure I'm clear on so just shut up! By yelling at each other you're only going to give more away!" Lily spoke in a low fierce voice. "And be careful. You almost told the whole pub that you're time travelers. Now, James and I are going to go talk to Harry and Ginny."

"Harry!" Ginny called, following his stalking form all the way to the Shrieking Shack. "Harry, stop! Talk to me!"

Harry stopped at the fence to the Shrieking Shack and Ginny took his hand. "He's an imbecile." Harry growled.

"You'll find no argument here." Ginny said. "And I know you're mad at him, but your parents are already together, and you know James isn't going to let your mum go."

"I know...but...it will seem to get awkward. I mean, these are my parents, and they both know it, and we're the same age..." Harry sighed.

"It's okay. They love you, and quite frankly, I think Lily already had an idea that she was your mother."

"She's right, you know." Harry and Ginny spun around to see Lily and James standing there behind them. "Look at you. You're a spitting image of James except for your eyes. You have my eyes. I noticed that your eyes were green right away. And...when I asked Ginny for advice before I talked to James, I don't think she would have told me to go for it if I didn't ending up marrying him. Ginny wouldn't hurt me that way."

Ginny grinned, but it turned into a smirk. "Who says you got married?"

"Ginny!"Lily exclaimed. When Ginny just gave her a look, she turned to Harry, who was standing there trying to hold in his laughter. "I almost thought you were serious."

"Jeez, Lily." James said. "I've only been trying to get you to go out with me for years. You don't think you're getting away that easy, do you?"

Lily grinned. "I guess not."

"It doesn't change anything, you know." James said. "I've always known I was gonna marry her. She's been my one and only for years."

Lily hit him on the arm. "Alright, James."

"But, on a more serious note." James said. "You think I didn't notice that you have Lily's eyes? I love those eyes. They're gorgeous, and expressive, and...well, I noticed her eyes in my face the first time I saw you."

Harry laughed. "I'm sorry. I guess I overreacted, but I don't really want everyone here knowing about everything I've done in my life. It's over, and the minute Voldemort fell to the ground, it was a new beginning for me. Years I could get through, hopefully without something life threatening happening in the last few months of every school year. But then again, seeing as I'm now in the past, and Voldemort is still alive, I don't know if that's going to work out." He gave an amused smile.

Lily's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, something life threatening in the last few months of every school year?"

Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and started walking back towards the Three Bromsticks. "I mean exactly what I said, unfortunately." He said over his shoulder.

He heard Lily groan and speak as she and James started walking back. "This is all your fault that we had a troublemaker for a son." James laughed.


	10. Chapter 9: Earrings and Sparkly Things

Chapter 9: Earring Obsessions and Other Sparkly Things

"Alright!" Ginny said with a grin as she and Lily walked back into the Three Broomsticks. "Girls, let's head to the jewelry store! Boys, if I catch you following us, I won't hesitate to hex you." Ginny said, stating the plan. And with that, the girls left the pub.

Jose stood with a flourish. "Alright, boys. We have some errands to run in Muggle London." They all looked at him curiously. "I need something for my girlfriend."

"Ah." Sirius grinned. "Come to think of it, so do I."

"I need to buy something extra special, too." Remus said with a smile.

"Alright, boys." Draco drawled. "Let's head out."

"I know the perfect place to go to." Harry said with a grin.

"Do you need to buy something too?" James asked suspiciously.

"I've already got what you're thinking of." Harry replied.

Ron started choking. "What?" He exclaimed. "What are you thinking of? Are you thinking of what I'm thinking of?"

"I'm thinking that whatever it is," Harry said mysteriously. "You've already got it as well, so I wouldn't talk."

Ron reddened and then paled. "Don't you think she's too young?" He asked in a strained voice.

"I think we're all over age, not to mention we've had to grow up faster than most. And, we've been technically going out longer than you have, seeing as it took you so long to get yourself together after the Final Battle."

Ron gave him a disgruntled look. "Fine. But did you at least talk to Mum and Dad?"

Harry gave him an incredulous look. "After all they've done for me? Of course I did. Your Mum practically suffocated me until your dad was able to pull her off."

"Alright, alright, let's go." Draco said in a bored tone. "We don't need to hear any more of the protective brother speech."

Harry snorted. "You do realize you'll be hearing a speech from a protective sister eventually, right?"

Draco laughed. "You do have a point. But anyway, Harry, how do you know that the perfect place you want to go to is around now?"

"There was a sign on the door that said it's been around since 1950." Harry replied.

"How are we going to avoid the teachers to apparate away?" Jose asked.

Sirius burst into laughter. "Easy!" He exclaimed. "Come on. And walk like you're supposed to be where you are."

Harry and James took the lead out of the pub, heading down onto the side street where Madame Puddifoot's was.

"Just as I figured." Harry commented dryly. "The street's almost empty. I don't understand how guys allow themselves to be dragged to that stupid tea shop."

Ron gave Harry a look. "If I recall correctly, you were dragged there yourself in fifth year."

Sirius snorted from behind him and Harry went red. "I don't like to remember that day," he said hurriedly, "It was just a disaster all around—at least that part."

James grinned at him and the group of boys went down an alley at the end of the road.

"Apparate to the Leaky Cauldron." Harry said. "I'll be glad to be able to go in there and not be gawked at. But, the jewelry store is only a couple of blocks away."

And with that, the boys turned on the spot and Disapparated.

The group of girls made their way down the main street of Hogsmeade and followed Lily down one of the side roads to a small little boutique emblazoned with the sparkling name, Enchantment.

"This is the jewelry store in Hogsmeade." Lily said matter-of-factly.

Ginny giggled. "Fleur overtook this store." She stated and Hermione nodded in agreement. "But then again, she overtook the three stores on either side of this one, too. Only she could get away with buying four stores from different people, joining them all together, and then managing to open another one in Diagon Alley by doing the exact same thing."

The girls laughed. "I'm assuming you know this girl?"

"She's my sister-in-law." Ginny laughed. "And part Veela too, which is probably one of the reasons she was able to get away with what she did."

Lily grinned. "Alright, what should we start with? Necklaces or earrings?"

"Earrings." Sarah and Kacey chimed in together.

Sarah continued. "I need to get earrings first, because otherwise I'll keep looking while waiting for you guys to finish. I'm a sucker for earrings."

Kacey grinned. "Yeah. I practically had to drag her out of Icing last time we went to the Muggle mall near our house. She somehow managed to find the sale rack and get seven things for twenty bucks, and four of them were earrings. That place is expensive, too."

"That was one time!" Sarah protested.

"Oh, please." Kacey replied. "I've had to pull you out of Forever 21, Wet Seal, and Claire's back before we switched to Icing. The jewelry just draws you in and then you can't leave unless someone takes you by force." She finished flatly.

"Well, let's get this done then." Lily said with a grin.

"Ginny...what are you looking at?" Hermione asked curiously.

Ginny spun around, face red, as Hermione walked over and burst out laughing.

"Engagement rings?"

"No...well...yeah," Ginny replied sheepishly.

"Worried?" Kacey teased. But she went over to the glass case and gazed at the rings as well.

"No..." Ginny said softly. "Nervous. I just don't really want to wait much longer. He's the one."

"No worries, Ginny. You're not the only one looking at rings," Sarah smirked, inclining her head towards her sister, who spun around, Weasley red. "But we can daydream later. Let's look for earrings."

"How many have you found so far?" Kacey asked dryly.

"Only two pairs. Ooh, these are really pretty, too."

Kacey rolled her eyes. "You can get two pairs, and that's it."

Sarah pouted. "You can't put a limit on earrings!" she protested.

"When I'm talking to you, I can."

"Alright, I'm hurrying," Hermione laughed. "Ginny, we obviously have to be quick, before Sarah spends fifty dollars on earrings," she said dryly.

"I found some." Ginny said with a grin. "I'm just getting studs."

"I think that's the way I'm going to go, too," Kacey said thoughtfully, picking out a pair of diamond ones that almost matched Ginny's.

"I'm going dangly." Sarah said with a grin.

"I figured," Kacey responded with a roll of her eyes. "That's it. Just the red ones. They're pretty."

"But these are pretty, too! And they're also red." Sarah added hastily.

"Well, I said two. But that's it." Kacey said sternly.

"I like that style," Lily said with a smile, picking out an emerald pair of dangly ones that looked similar to Sarah's. "Yup, I'm getting these."

"I'm going to get these," Hermione said softly, holding up a pair of diamond earrings, "I like the elegance and the fact that they're still so simple."

"Let's get necklaces." Kacey said with a smile. "Sarah's still looking at earrings." She grabbed Sarah's wrist and dragged her to the opposite side of the store, where the necklaces were located. "I already have a necklace to wear, from Jose, but I don't know about the rest of you."

"Harry gave me a beautiful one for my birthday that I'm going to wear." Ginny said.

"I'm not going to wear a necklace." Lily said, browsing anyway. "My dress is halter, so it will look okay without one."

"Ooh..." Sarah said with a smile. "I like this one." She held up a small, silver necklace set with rubies, in a sort of choker style.

"That is pretty." Ginny said with a grin. "Waiting on you, Hermione."

"Oh, be quiet." Hermione said with a laugh. "I found one." She held up a gold choker with a diamond pendant that was just the right size to look good with her dress.

"Gorgeous." Kacey said with a grin. "Let's check out and go." They got in a line to check out, making sure Sarah was last so she couldn't wander to the earrings while waiting for the others to finish.

"Alright." Hermione said with a clap of her hands as they exited the store. "Shall we head back to the castle?"

"Sounds good." Lily grinned. "After all, we'll never know when the boys will get back. They're with James and Sirius," she rolled her eyes.

"And they're with Harry and Ron," Hermione added. "They're half the reason I got in trouble as much as I did in our earlier years at Hogwarts."

The girls laughed, held their bags tight, and headed back up to the school.

"Here it is." Harry said with a grin, opening the door to the shop so the boys could precede him in.

"Wow, Harry." James said with wide eyes. "This place is nice."

"How much is my sister worth?" Ron said in a choked voice.

"This place is much nicer in our time." Draco said with a look around. "The quality and price of everything has gone up. But it's really nice now, as well."

"Once again, how much is my sister worth?" Ron asked with wide eyes as he looked in the nearest case. "This stuff is expensive!"

"Your sister's worth everything." Harry said simply, with a shrug.

"I don't know how you're managing to propose so soon and so young. With Sirius as your godfather, it's astonishing that he didn't whisper hints to you while you were napping about getting all the ladies you can." Ron said dryly.

"Ron!" Harry snapped.

"I'm-what?" Sirius asked, turning around.

"You're my godfather," Harry said resignedly.

"Wow," Sirius said with wide eyes and a strange look on his face. "James must have gone mad when he named me godfather."

Remus chuckled. "Obviously. Although I don't know how you can think that you weren't named godfather." Remus rolled his eyes.

James turned and grinned at Remus and Sirius. "No worries. If Lils and I have a girl, you can be her godfather, Remus. You're more sensible; I would never name Sirius my _daughters_ godfather."

"Hey!" Sirius said indignantly.

The group laughed, albeit Harry's laughter was a bit strained.

"I'm going to find a ring." Sirius said indignantly, stomping away, leaving the boys in stitches.

"Reminds me of Lily back when you were still fighting." Remus said dryly.

"I heard that!" Sirius called from the other side of the shop, annoyed. "And I don't appreciate being compared to a girl!"

Remus rolled his eyes at his friends and headed to look at the cases as well. Jose followed him, moving further down as he looked.

Sirius was first, coming back to the group with a small box in his hand. "Well, I found something," he stated with a smile.

"Nice, mate," James said, clapping his friend on the back.

Jose finished soon after, holding an identical box. "I found the perfect one," He said with a grin.

Remus called James over a few minutes later, and they had a whispered discussion by one of the cases before Remus finally decided and checked out.

"Alright," Harry said with a grin at all of the boys. "Are we ready to go?"

"Yup." Ron said, nodding at him.

The boys turned and walked out, heading back to the Leaky Cauldron, then apparating to Hogsmeade and heading back up to the school, where Ron pulled Harry aside one last time.

"Look, Harry, I know you've told me this already, but I just want to be sure," Ron muttered, his ears red. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Ron," Harry said softly, a bit of a sympathetic look on his face. "I love her, more than anything. She's my one and only. If you need proof, just look at how I look at her, and the things I did for her. I died for her." Harry finished in a firm voice and Ron nodded, opening his mouth, but he was interrupted.

"You died?"

Harry spun around to see James standing there, his face pale and his eyes wide. "Did you just say...you died for Ginny? Then how are you here? Blimey..." James trailed off, running a hand through his hair. "You have the most complicated life. Lily and I must be so paranoid."

Harry let out a strained laugh. "Yes...I died for Ginny. It was a unique piece of magic that allowed me to survive. I can't disclose the details to you, it would give away too much."

James nodded, his face still pale. "God, I wish you could just tell me everything. Then we wouldn't be so shocked when each new piece of information slips out."

Harry laughed again. "I agree."


	11. Chapter 10: A Parents Concern

Chapter 10: A Parents Concern

It was the middle of the week and Lily was sitting alone in the Head Common Room. The others had gone to bed, but neither she nor James could sleep. James was in his room for the moment, but she was planning on talking with him when he came out.

"Hey, you," he said from behind her, and she could tell he had a smile on his face.

"Hey, James," Lily replied as he came around the couch and sat next to her.

He kissed her on the cheek and threw an arm around her shoulders. "What's on your mind?"

"Harry and Ginny," she answered simply.

"Harry I can understand," James replied softly, "but why Ginny?"

"It's just strange...well, not strange, but there are so many things I'm not sure of, so many things I still have to figure out, but with them, there's always one constant-each other."

"What are you guys talking about?" Ginny's voice came from the end of the couch. Her hair was in a messed up bun and she was wearing shorts and a tank top.

"You and Harry, actually." Lily said softly.

Ginny smiled, sitting down in the armchair across from them. "He's amazing, isn't he?"

"More than amazing." Lily responded with a smile in return.

"More like a miracle."

"A miracle..." Ginny pondered James' statement. "That's a good way to describe him."

"How much has he gone through?" Lily asked suddenly, after a short silence. "He always looks so old, so beyond his years. I'm a little worried."

"Me too," James agreed. "Today he was talking to Ron about you, and he mentioned that he died for you."

"What?" Lily gasped. "How is that possible?"

"Miracle." Ginny said with a wry grin. "He did. It took a rare piece of magic to make it possible, but it happened."

"That's what Harry said when I asked him," James agreed.

"To answer your first question, Harry has been through a lot. He's been through more hardships than anyone I know, but he's-somehow-come out whole at the end. My family has helped with that a lot."

"It sounds like you've helped with that a lot," James stated.

"Your family?" Lily asked, her face pale. "What about us? Where are we?"

Ginny's face went pale, and she stuttered, trying to think of an explanation for her words. "You-you...were away."

"We're dead, aren't we?" James asked in a whisper. "We died when he was young. He looked like he had seen a ghost when he first saw us. And...well, he doesn't seem to know anything about us, and anything he does know, seems to have come from someone else."

Lily and James both stared at Ginny, searching her face for an answer. They seemed to find it fairly quickly-Ginny was having a hard time masking her emotions.

"Where did he go?" Lily asked desperately. "How long were we even around?"

Ginny opened her mouth to tell them she couldn't say anything more, when they heard a sudden yell.

"GINNY!"

Not hesitating, Ginny raced down the hall and burst into James' room, rushing to Harry's side. He was tossing and turning, the sheets bunched around him.

"NOOO!"

"HARRY!" Ginny yelled and his eyes shot open, meeting hers immediately. "I'm right here, Harry, I'm alright."

Ginny heard Lily and James gasp behind her, but she ignored them. "Ron, go get him some water or something."

"Gin...Come here," Harry murmured hoarsely, and she pulled him up and wrapped her arms around him. He buried his face in her hair and breathed in deeply. "You're mine," he whispered.

"All yours," Ginny replied in an equally low voice. "And I'm perfectly fine. Which one was it?"

"Bellatrix," his voice came out rough, "I've said it once, I'll say it again," Harry pulled slightly away so he could look her in the eyes. "If she got you, she would have been sorry. It would have been the last thing she'd done."

"Harry...are you alright?" Lily's voice came from behind Ginny.

"Yeah," Harry pulled Ginny to him and looked over her head at his parents. "I'm alright. I'm sorry if I woke you...the nightmares aren't so common anymore, I don't know why I had one tonight."

"Probably because of seeing us so much lately," James said softly.

Harry gave him a sharp look. "What are you talking about?" When Ron handed him a glass of water he gulped it down and gave James a questioning look.

"Well...we're dead, aren't we? In the future?"

Harry looked at Ron immediately, "What do I have to do to get you to keep your mouth shut?" He snapped.

"Harry," Ginny said softly. "It wasn't him. I didn't mean to tell them...I kind of...said something, and they figured it out."

"Like Remus did." Harry sighed. "Then, yes. You aren't around in the future."

"How old were you?" Lily asked.

Harry met her eyes, and she noticed how haunted they looked in that moment. "You don't need to know that," he said firmly.

"I want to know," James said resolutely.

"Well, I'm not going to tell you," Harry replied with his eyes narrowed, "and neither are any of them." Harry gave a pointed look to all of his fellow time-travelers, who nodded. "That means you too, Ron. I don't want them to know when or how."

"Okay," Kacey said simply. "We won't say anything," she looked around at them all again and gave a more pointed look to Ron.

"Why does everyone always look at me?" Ron said, with a disgruntled look at Hermione.

"Because you're usually the one to give important things away," she said with a sigh, "and even you can't deny that."

"Is there some potion we could give him that keeps his mouth shut about anything crucial to the future?" Sarah asked amusedly.

"Not that I know of," Draco answered from behind her, "And I used to be one of the best Potions students around."

"Lils is pretty good at Potions, too. I don't really like the reason for you asking," James said, "but Lily, can you think of anything?"

"No," Lily shook her head. "If anyone would know, Severus would."

"I'm not taking anything from anyone," Ron said firmly. "No stupid potions. I won't say anything. No one needs to know how badly Harry's childhood was under the Dursley-!"

"Shut up, Ron!" Harry snapped, jumping to his feet, "Just shut up! I don't think you understand how important it is to keep the secrets of the future!"

"Alright, stop. Both of you be quiet. Harry, half of the time he barely knows what he's doing, so lay off a little, and Ron, think before you speak, please. You could give something crucial away and cause the future to be changed-which could potentially cancel our existence."

"Ron...did you just say Dursley?" Lily asked hesitantly.

Ron looked startled. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, his voice an octave higher than usual.

"You did...you said Harry's life was horrible with the Dursleys. But...Petunia is dating a Vernon Dursley and my mother wrote me and said she thought they would end up married..." Lily went silent for a moment, and then looked up, horrified. "Harry, did you stay with Petunia after we died?"

Harry stared at her for a moment, and then nodded resignedly. "Yes, I did."

"And they...treated you badly?" Lily asked, a hurt note creeping into her voice.

Harry stared at each person in the room and then looked at the floor. "Yes...they treated me badly."

Lily's cheeks slowly grew redder. "Tell me you're joking. Tell me my sister didn't treat you horribly. God dammit, you're serious! They treated you terribly, didn't they?"

Harry clenched his fists on his knees, so the words 'I must not tell lies' shone white on the back of his hand. "I may not want you to know the truth on some things, but I'm not going to lie to you."

"Harry, Ginny, Sarah and Kacey, I want to talk with you and Lily," James said quietly.

The group left the room, going into the Common area and sitting down.

"What are we here for?" Sarah asked hesitantly.

James looked at she and Kacey. "I want to know some things and I need you two to be mediators. The way I see it, you weren't around when any of this actually happened, so you're neutral."

"I have some questions as well," Lily said softly. "How about we start with an easy one. What was your nightmare about?"

Harry winced. "You call that easy?" Then he sighed. "During the Final Battle, Bellatrix Lestrange almost hit Ginny with a Killing Curse. It missed-obviously, but in my dreams, I see it hit her...and thats one of my worst nightmares."

"What are some of your other nightmares?" James asked curiously.

"I see what happened when you died. And...I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you that Sirius is dead in the future as well. I saw that happen, and it's another of my nightmares. Also...in the future...Dumbledore was killed. I saw that happen...and because of a freezing spell by Dumbledore, I wasn't able to do anything to stop it. That haunts me, even after I learned it was planned. And then...in my fourth year, the Triwizard Tournament was held at Hogwarts. I was a champion, but at the end, the cup was a Portkey and took me and Cedric, another champion, to a graveyard in Little Hangleton. I had suggested to take the Portkey together...and Cedric was killed. I was brought there so Voldemort could kill me after he rose again and I managed to get away." he laughed dryly, "with your help, actually."

"You faced Voldemort at fourteen?" James asked incredulously.

"He faced a form of him at eleven as well." Ginny said, "Not to mention saving me in the Chamber of Secrets."

James and Lily sat in silence for a moment and then Lily spoke again. "I want to know what happened when you were staying with Petunia."

Harry stared at Lily with a pained look on his face. "I don't want to tell you that."

"It doesn't have any way of changing the future," Sarah said gently.

"She's right," Kacey added. "Nothing in that story can be used to change anything."

"Alright," Harry said. "They made me cook for them. I made breakfast on multiple occasions. Dudley, Aunt Petunia's son, used to beat me up-we're on better terms now, since I saved his life...or soul..or whatever. Basically, they tried to squeeze the magic out of me. I didn't even know I was a wizard until my letter came."

James nodded solemnly and Lily gasped. "That means...that means we died when you were really young. There's no way we would have kept something like that from you!" she exclaimed. "How old were you?!"

"Young," Harry replied, jutting his chin out, stubbornly refusing to tell them his exact age.

"Are Remus and Peter still alive?" James asked curiously, almost as if he didn't want to know the answer.

Harry hesitated, and then shook his head. "No, you're all dead."

"What about Severus?" Lily asked timidly. James whipped his head around to look at her but said nothing as she stared at Harry.

"Dead as well," Harry said quietly.

"What about Frank and Alice?" Lily asked, timid again. At this, James' head swivelled back to Harry.

Harry stared at the couple in front of him, and thought of Neville. "They...are in St. Mungo's permanently."

"Why?" Lily asked, shocked.

Harry narrowed his eyes at the ground. "Bellatrix Lestrange tortured them into insanity," he said bitterly.

"I hope Sirius took her with him when he died," James snarled.

Lily was the only one who noticed Harry's wince.

"Did she get away?" She asked astonishedly, misinterpreting his reaction.

"She's dead," Harry said harshly in reply. "Ginny's Mum took care of her, and if she hadn't...I would've."

"Because of when she almost hit Ginny with the Killing Curse?" Lily asked.

"That," Harry conceded, "and more."

"You are good friends with Frank and Alice's son," Sarah said quietly, trying to prevent them from figuring out what happened to Sirius.

"Not to mention she killed Sirius," Kacey said with a growl.

"WHAT?" James exclaimed. "That BITCH! She did not kill Sirius!"

Harry turned to glare at Kacey. "I was trying to avoid that coming out," he said angrily. He turned back to James. "Dad...look at me...this doesn't mean you go after Bellatrix more fiercely...let things play out the way they do."

"So how do Remus and Peter die?" James asked.

"Remus died during the Final Battle," Ginny said quietly, "and Peter died fulfilling a life debt to Harry."

It was lucky James and Lily were looking at Ginny at the moment, otherwise they would have seen the dark look that crossed Harry's face at the mention of Peter.

"Made it sound really noble, didn't you?" Harry muttered under his breath.

"Harry..." Ginny said warningly.

"Sorry," he murmured in reply.

James narrowed his eyes. "What did you just say?"

"Nothing." Harry replied shortly.

"Are you still staying with my sister?" Lily asked hastily, sensing the tension.

"No." Harry said. "I left on my seventeenth birthday and the last time I saw them was when I went to tell them it was over...at least Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. Dudley and I go out for a drink occasionally. I entertain him with stories of my years at Hogwarts."

"How are your parents, Ginny?" Lily asked, looking at her with a smile.

"Alive." Ginny replied. "My whole family except for one of my brothers, made it through."

"What about you, Kacey and Sarah? How did you make it through the war?"

"We made it through with our whole family. Mum and Dad moved us to France during the war. They go to school here now, I think. Joe Coelho and Kathy Montani."

"Oh, yeah..." Lily smiled. "They're very nice, they're a sweet couple."

Sarah and Kacey grinned. "I bet they're even more sickening now than they are in the present," Kacey said with a wrinkled nose.

Sarah laughed, "You know you absolutely adore the fact that our parents are still so in love. She's a romantic to the core," Sarah added to Lily and James. "And she loves babies." she mused. "When she and Jose get married, they're going to have twenty kids running around their house," the group laughed and Kacey blushed.

"Not that many!" she protested, then giggled, "Though I do love children," the group laughed again.

"We should probably go to bed, now," Lily said suddenly. "We have class tomorrow."

Everyone nodded and headed back to their rooms.


	12. Chapter 11: The Dance

Chapter 11: The Dance

The rest of the week passed fairly quickly, and before long it was the day of the dance. Lily claimed the Head Dorm for the girls, so the boys had their stuff out of there in the morning.

"Why do we have to leave so early?" James asked, annoyed.

"Because!" Lily said as though shocked he had to ask. "Do you know how many of us have to get ready? Do you know how long that's going to take?" James stared at her and Lily pushed him towards the door. "That's what I thought! Now go! We'll meet you all in the Entrance Hall at quarter to seven."

When the boys were gone, the Head Dorm was essentially transformed into a Beauty Parlor. Lily conjured a large floor to ceiling three way mirror in her bedroom, where the girls would change into yoga pants and tanks after their showers, and into their dresses later on. She conjured a hanging rack in her room as well, to hold all of the dresses. In the Common Room, there was an area for nails, hair, and makeup, with each girl pairing off to do each others.

A half an hour after Lily had transformed the Dorm, Katie, Celeste, and Jamie—the dates of the other three Marauders—joined Lily and the time travelers in her room.

Lily clapped her hands. "Okay. We'll split into girls that will do their nails before their shower, and girls that will do it after. You can use my room one at a time to change, that way the bathroom will only be used for showers, to keep it available as much as possible." With that, the girls got started. It was a little slow at first, but once every girl was showered, it was lunch time, so Lily had sandwiches brought up by the House Elves. Hermione and Kacey gave Lily a look, but said nothing and ate the sandwiches anyway. The hours after lunch were filled with mini crises and reassurances, nervous girls, and lots of getting ready. The hours were well-used, as it was half past six when the last girl exited Lily's room fully dressed and ready to go. Looking around, there was no doubt in anyone's mind, except maybe the girl in question, that when their dates saw them, they wouldn't be able to speak.

Kacey, who of course was going with Jose, was wearing a ballroom style dress, midnight blue in color, that brushed the floor. The corset of the dress was sequined extravagantly in silver, and the poofy skirt was sparkling in the light thanks to the veil-like material that covered it. Her silver flats were barely visible under the large skirt of the dress and her hair was curled and rested beautifully on her shoulders. Around her neck she wore a dark blue cord choker with a peace sign charm, which she had recieved from Jose. She had diamond studs in her ears and a diamond tennis bracelet on her wrist.

Sarah, accompanying Draco, wore a red, floor-length halter top dress. It had a matching sash, which gave the dress an empire waist, and from there, a flowing skirt that was embroidered in a silver design at the hem, which touched the ground. She was wearing silver high heels, and when I say high—I mean high—and her hair was in a simple updo, though a few curls were left to hang and frame her face. She had silver dangly earrings set with rubies, and a simple ruby choker necklace, also silver.

Hermione almost looked like a bride in a beautiful white gown, ballroom style like Kacey's. It was spaghetti strapped with a gold sash that tied in a graceful bow at her back. The large skirt was embroidered in gold, beginning simply about halfway down, and getting more complex as her skirt hit the floor. She wore red heels, offsetting the bride-like color of the dress and her hair was also in an updo, much like she wore it at the Yule Ball, with curls framing her face. Ron would be happy that she was going with him looking like that this time. A simple diamond choker necklace rested around her neck and simple diamond earrings sat in her ears, both gold.

Ginny, who had been nervous about what color would look good with her hair, sparkled in a silver ballroom gown. Strapless, it had a silver sash tied at her waist, and below that, the veil material that covered the skirt sparkled in the dim light. She wore silver high heels, which barely showed under her dress and were definitely not as high as Sarah's, and her hair was down, and curled, framing her face like Kacey's. She had diamond studs in her ears and a diamond journey necklace in silver, which she had recieved from Harry on her brithday.

Lily, who was also worried that her dress would clash with her hair, wore a dark green dress that set off her eyes beautifully. The top was a halter top, and the green sash gave it an empire waist. Below the sash, the skirt flowed down with gold embroidery on the bottom. She wore gold heels and her hair was in a half-updo, the bottom half resting in curls against her neck. She wore emerald dangly earrings and an emerald tennis style necklace, both in gold. She had recieved the necklace from James that morning.

Celeste had dressed sexy for Sirius in a red, slinky, floor-length dress that flared out after molding to her curvy hips. It was strapless with a tight corset top and a skirt that darkened to bloodred by the time it hit the floor. She wore black stiletto's, the only one with heels higher than Sarah's, and had left her hair down around her face in messy waves. She wore ruby studs and a ruby pendent on metal of black stained silver.

Katie, going with Remus, opted for a baby-blue, floor length dress with a flowing skirt and spaghetti straps. It's silver sash gave it an empire waist and the skirt was covered in silver sequins of which the number increased as you looked closer to the bottom. Her shoes were silver heels, the lowest of the group and her dark hair was pulled back in an intricate braided style. Aquamarine teardrop earrings were set in her ears and a simple silver heart necklace studded with aquamarine rested around her neck.

Jamie, who was shyly accompanying Peter, wore a gold, empire waisted dress that dropped to the floor. With a square neck, it had cap sleeves and a ballroom style skirt that drowned in silver sparkles. On her feet were gold flats, and her hair was pulled into a sleek ponytail, accentuated by curls. She wore moderately-sized gold hoops with silver sparkles and a plain gold heart necklace.

James looked at his watch as he stood with the group of boys in the Entrance Hall. They were dressed in black suits, with the exception of Ron, who wore white, and their ties matched the color of their dates dresses to the exact shade.

"They should be here soon," Ron said, wringing his hands.

Harry grinned at him. "Feels weird, doesn't it, mate? It wasn't that long ago that we were standing in this exact spot, waiting for the exact same girls, but in a different time period."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it. Aren't you nervous, though?"

"I'm more nervous about what she's going to say when I ask." Harry said shortly, knowing he didn't need to explain what he meant.

Ron laughed outright. "Chill, mate. She loves you, of course she'll say yes."

"Are you telling me you're not going to be even more nervous when you ask Hermione?"

Ron paled and opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off when James spoke.

"Wow."

It was all he said, but the awe in his voice caused each boy to whip their heads around and look to the stairs. The girls were making their way down them, walking in two lines. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, each girl joined their date. Lily and Ginny reached the bottom of the stairs first.

"Gin..." Harry said softly, his eyes looking her up and down until they met hers. "You look amazing." Ginny blushed lightly and grinned, leaning forward to kiss him. He held out his arm, "Ready to go in?"

"Of course," Ginny said with a smile. "You look quite dashing yourself."

Lily walked over to James, her cheeks pink as he stared at her. "You look gorgeous," he said, reaching out and taking her hand, then leaning down to press a gentle kiss to it. "Your dress brings out your eyes beautifully."

"Thank you," Lily said softly, "You look nice as well."

"I try," James responded with a grin.

Sarah and Kacey reached the bottom of the staircase next. Sarah bounced forward with a grin on her face and took the hand Draco offered her.

"Hello," she said, as he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.

"You look beautiful," he said in a low voice as he pulled away, catching her lips on the way.

She smiled into the kiss and when he pulled away, replied with, "Thank you. You don't look too bad, yourself. You look good in black."

Draco raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly, hooking an arm around her waist and leading her into the hall.

Kacey walked gracefully over to where Jose was standing, his mouth open and his eyes wide in awe. With a grin, she reached out and pushed his mouth closed with her index finger. "You're catching flies," she said with a short laugh. Jose leaned forward and met her lips with his in a kiss. When he pulled away, Kacey blinked. "Wow."

"You are...breathtaking," Jose whispered in her ear, and she smiled as he pulled back, taking her hand.

Hermione and Katie were the next pair at the bottom. Katie reached Remus with a shy smile, which he returned happily.

"You look stunning," he said in a regal voice, holding out his hand. He may have been the sensible Marauder, and the smartest all-around Marauder, but he was still a Marauder.

Katie giggled and took his hand. "And you look quite handsome," she replied, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

Hermione walked over to Ron, managing to keep steady in her heels. When she got to him, she leaned up and kissed his cheek, smiling at the enamoured look on his face.

"You look...magnificent," Ron said in a hoarse voice. "I almost stopped breathing when you came down the stairs."

"Almost?" Hermione asked, amused. "You were pale as a ghost."

"Okay," Ron said grudgingly. "Maybe I did stop breathing for a moment." He held out his arm and Hermione took it; they headed into the hall.

Celeste and Jamie were last down the stairs. Jamie walked slowly over to Peter, who's cheeks were red as he stared at her. "You look...very nice," Peter stumbled slightly over his words.

Jamie smiled back at him. "Thank you," she said shyly. She held out her hand. "Shall we?"

"Yes," Peter replied, clearing his throat and taking her hand quickly, leading her into the hall.

Celeste sauntered over to Sirius, who raised an eyebrow admiringly as she reached him. Leaning up, she pressed her lips to his, and when he was about to deepen the kiss, pulled away teasingly. "Not so fast," she said with a smirk. She stepped away and did a slow twirl for him.

Sirius let out a low whistle as he scanned her body up and down. "You look very sexy," he growled in a low voice, grabbing her hand and pulling her to him.

She raised an eyebrow and smiled seductively. "I try," she smirked. "You look pretty striking yourself, in all black."

Sirius raised an eyebrow in reply. "I know," he said in a cocky voice. "Shall we join the others for dinner?"

"But of course," Celeste replied in a smoky voice, taking Sirius' arm. "Make sure you save room for dessert."

Sirius smirked as he led her into the Great Hall. "I like you." He said in her ear.

He and Celeste made their way to their table, which consisted of the rest of the Marauders and their dates, and the time travelers. There were two empty seats in between Kacey and Sarah.

"Who else is sitting with us?" Katie asked curiously.

Kacey leaned over and looked at the name tags, then went slightly pale. "Our parents," she said quietly.

Sarah went pale as well and gripped Draco's hand. "What should we say?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Try and act as normal as possible," Hermione said promptly. "It's a bit different. The only thing that's crucial to hide from them is the fact that you're their daughters."

Harry snorted. "Considering how long all of our important secrets lasted, I'm not quite sure that fact is going to stay secret for long."

"One thing does have to stay secret," Sarah said firmly. "Don't say a word about what happened to John. Don't even mention it if they find out we're their daughters."

"Exactly." Kacey agreed, taking a breath. "Ron, you have keep your mouth shut on this."

They all looked up as the last couple approached the table and took their seats.

Kacey and Sarah stared at them until Draco and Jose nudged them about the fact that they were being a bit too obvious.

Their mother smiled at them all and their father gave a brief smile as well, seeming to consider something. "I know about half of you," she said. "How can one not know the Marauders? But, I don't believe we've met," she added to the time travelers. "I'm Kathy Montani, and this is Joe Coelho."

The time travelers went around the table and introduced themselves, cautious to only say their first names.

"It's very nice to meet you," Kacey said with a smile.

Ginny gave her a look across the table, insinuating that she obviously already knew them, even though they were twenty years older. Sarah held back a giggle.

"When are we going to get to eat?" Ron groaned, looking at the Head table. "Doesn't Dumbledore realize how hungry we are?"

"Ronald!" Hermione snapped, hitting him on the arm. "We have to wait for everyone to be seated. Not to mention, dinner is served promptly at seven fifteen. We still have five minutes. For goodness sakes, you were there when Lily planned this whole thing! She gave everyone fifteen minutes to get settled in before Dumbledore would stand and make his speech!"

Ron groaned. "Of course, we have to wait for his speech first...can't he make it after we eat?"

"Ron, just give it a rest!" Hermione snapped, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I'd do what she says, mate," Harry said with a grin. "A few more minutes isn't going to hurt."

"For Ron it will." Ginny said wryly.

"See?" Ron said indignantly. "Ginny knows what she's talking about! She's my sister after all."

Ginny rolled her eyes at Harry. "He's dim." she said matter-of-factly. "Hermione, I don't know how you stand him."

Hermione grinned. "Somehow...we just click."

"How long have you all been together?" Kathy asked the time traveling couples around the table.

"I've been with Jose for a year and a half," Kacey said, giving him a smile.

"I've only been with Draco for a few months," Sarah said as he leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"I've been with this dunderhead for about six months," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes. "Merlin help me, I barely understand how I fell in love with him."

"I love you too, 'Mione," Ron said with a grin.

Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother. "Harry and I were together for a few weeks a year and a half ago, and we've been together for the last six months."

"What happened to the year in between?" Kathy asked with a puzzled smile.

Ginny looked sideways at Harry. "He had something he had to do...and felt it wasn't a place for me." she said, considering her words carefully. As it was, Harry looked a little indignant at her wording, but she squeezed his hand and he accepted it. "How long have you and Joe been together?"

"Two years," Kathy said with a loving smile at her boyfriend.

"Two wonderful years," Joe added. It was the first thing he'd said and the girls at the table smiled softly.

The hall went silent as Professor Dumbledore got to his feet. "Welcome, students, to our Christmas celebration. I'm delighted to thank our Head students for putting together this lovely occasion for us. They, along with our prefects, have worked hard to decorate for and plan this dance. So, a Happy Christmas to all of you, and I hope you have an amazing night, dancing under the starry ceiling of our Great Hall. But before we get to that, let's eat." And he took a seat, picked up his menu, said what he wanted to his plate, and it appeared.

The Hall was immediately filled with voices announcing their meals to their plates, and the low pops of the meals appearing. Hermione and Kacey were a little disgruntled over the work the House Elves had to do, but Lily gave them a look, and made clear that the House Elves had insisted...and though she had tried to stop them, they didn't let her, so they used the menus.

They made small talk throughout dinner, discussing the war until Lily made them change the subject, and then they talked about pranks that Fred and George played over the years.

"Oh!" Ginny said with a grin. "At our old boarding school, there was one year that we had this horrible Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher that, through a series of unfortunate events, ended up as Headmistress. So my brothers decided to give her hell with their new products for a joke shop they were planning on opening. They had these crazy fireworks that were shaped like fire animals and sparking frisbees that flew around the school. If you tried to Vanish or Stun them, they multiplied or got bigger in size. The professor was running around all week getting rid of them, and the other teachers, who probably could have gotten rid of them easily, called on her to get them. They always claimed they weren't sure they had the authority to, because of all of the rules and restrictions that the professor made. Restrictions including banning Harry and the twins from playing Quidditch after they beat someone up. He deserved it, at the time," Ginny said, not looking at Draco, who's cheeks went a little red. Sarah grinned at him and squeezed his hand as Ginny went on. "Then, their biggest stunt of all, one day, they somehow created a swamp in the Entrance Hall. A whole swamp." The Marauders were dying at this point, and the girls and Joe were astonished. "But they got caught. So they were standing in the middle of the Entrance Hall and the professor was screaming at them, saying she was going to expell them, when suddenly they said they decided they were going to leave. They summoned their brooms and then just flew away." When Ginny finished, the table was in silence.

"They are my heroes." James said solemnly.

"I'm sure you would be theirs." Ginny said with a smirk.

"So they just...summoned their brooms and flew away?" Kathy asked, shocked.

Ginny grinned and nodded. "They did."

"What about the swamp?" Lily asked, aghast.

Ginny giggled. "It stayed, because she couldn't get rid of it. When she left, one of the other professors waved her wand and got rid of it in seconds, but they left a small section roped off in tribute." she finished with a grin.

Ginny and the Marauders swapped prank stories for a few more minutes, before Professor Dumbledore got to his feet. "I hope everyone enjoyed their meal. Now, it is time to begin the entertainment. Our Head Boy and Girl managed to get The Pheonix Feathers to play for us tonight, and so, for all their hard work, they are going to start us off dancing."

The band struck a note and James got to his feet, holding a hand out for Lily, who took it and followed him to the middle of the dance floor. When the music started up he led her around the floor without hesitation, twirling and dipping when appropriate.

"You're a good dancer," Lily said, sort of surprised.

"Blame my parents," James murmured. "They made me take lessons since I was five and I've gone to Ministry Balls since I was eight."

"Blame?" Lily asked, amused. "I'm glad you can dance. You won't be stepping on my toes."

James grinned at her and pulled her close as they twirled around the floor.

A moment later, other couples began joining them in dancing. Harry and Ginny were among them.

"Having fun?" Harry asked softly, grinning as he spun Ginny around and dipped her almost effortlessly.

Ginny giggled as the song slowed, and leaned her head against his chest. "Yes. I always have fun when I'm with you," she said as he kissed the top of her head. "You've gotten better at dancing," she said, grinning as she remembered the time in her fifth year when he'd twirled her in front of the lake and she almost fell in.

Harry laughed and Ginny lifted her head so she was looking at him. "Though that was funny, and embarrassing, I decided to practice a little so I could dance with you tonight without hurting you." With a grin, he continued, "I actually learned a bit before the dance that brought us here, but we never actually got a chance to dance that night, did we?"

Ginny smiled. "No, we did not."


	13. Chapter 12: Half of My Heart

Chapter 12: Half of My Heart

When a faster song came on, Harry led Ginny off the dance floor and kissed her softly. "Would you like to go for a walk?" he whispered in her ear, his breath making her shiver.

"Sure," she said with a smile, taking his hand as he led her outside. "It's beautiful," she said softly.

Harry looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Not as beautiful as you," he said simply, watching the blush rise up her cheeks. "I thought you were the one that set it up? Of course it looks beautiful."

"I did help set it up, " Ginny said with a smile, swinging their hands, "but, I hadn't seen it at night with the fairy lights reflecting off the ice and now that I do, it looks much better than I thought it would."

They walked a little farther, deeper into the maze of ice sculptures and fairy lights, when suddenly Harry pulled her into a small alcove in the path, and kissed her. "I love you." he murmured against her lips.

Ginny smiled giddily when he pulled away. "I love you, too," she said softly.

"I want to ask you something." Harry said, and then held up his hand when she opened her mouth to say something. "Just hear me out, okay?" she nodded, and he continued. "I love you. More than anything. You're the reason I came back seven months ago, you're the reason I'm alive. I know this sounds corny, but you are the other half of my heart, and I know I can't live without you." Ginny's face grew pale as he continued. "I know that technically we've only been together for six months, but it feels like we've been together our whole lives. Being away from you last year was complete torture and I never want to go through that again." Harry took a deep breath, and, grasping one of Ginny's hands in his, he got down on one knee, and pulled a small black box out of his pocket. "Ginevra Molly Weasley, will you make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?" He flipped open the box to reveal a gold ring with a small diamond on it, flanked by two small rubies.

Ginny, tears running down her cheeks, fell to her knees in front of him and nodded, a large smile on her face. "Yes, Harry, I'll marry you." She held out her hand and he had barely slipped the ring on her finger when she practically lunged forward and kissed him. He landed on his back in the grass, her on top of him.

When she finally pulled away, she beamed at him, looking into his eyes. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," Harry said hoarsely, kissing her again. "Surprised?"

Ginny smiled and nodded. "I knew it was going to happen some day, because we've talked about it, but I didn't expect it to be tonight."

"Well, good," Harry said with a grin. "I'm glad I caught you off guard."

"Hermione's going to be jealous," Ginny smiled, getting to her feet and helping Harry up. They both brushed off their robes and sat at the bench in the alcove they had claimed.

"Oh, I don't think she'll be jealous for long," Harry said with a smirk.

Ginny's eyes widened. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Harry's eyes sparkled. "I don't know. What do you think I'm saying?"

"Is my dimwit of a brother finally going to get his head out of his arse and stop with this on-off relationship? Is he going to ask her?"

Harry put a puzzled look on his face. "Ask her what?"

"Harry!" Ginny squealed. "He is, isn't he?" She slid onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I think he is," Harry said with a smile.

She grinned dreamily and looked down at her ring. "I love it," she said softly. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Harry said, kissing her lightly.

"You know you've just made me the happiest girl in the world, right?"

Harry grinned. "Now I do. I'm glad you're happy."

"Are you happy?"

"I am...unbelievably happy." Harry said, thinking over his answer. "I never thought I could be as happy as I am now."

Ginny smiled. "You sure know how to make a girl feel special."

"You are special. You're my special girl," Harry said, leaning forward and kissing her.

"Please, do that on your own time."

"James!"

Harry and Ginny pulled away from each other, Ginny almost falling out of Harry's lap. Ginny raised an eyebrow. "I believe you've interrupted _our_ time," she said with a smirk.

"She's sort of right," Lily sang. "We came out here to walk, not to disturb Harry and Ginny."

"But I like disturbing," James whined.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I'm very sorry about him," she said with a smirk.

"No worries," Ginny said, her eyes shining. "It's right anyway." She jumped to her feet and grabbed Harry's hand, pulling him up as well. "Guess what?"

"What?" Lily asked, a puzzled look on her face.

Ginny held out her hand. "We're engaged," she said with brilliant smile.

Lily squealed and threw her arms around Harry and Ginny. "I'm so excited!" she exclaimed.

James grinned and shook his head at his girlfriend. "I'm proud of you, son," he said to Harry, who grinned as his mother pulled slightly away. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Harry grinned. "We're probably going to head back to the Dorm now."

"We'll walk with you," Lily said, taking James' hand as they started walking back to the school.

"It's sort of weird, don't you think?" James asked.

"What's weird?" Ginny asked with a grin, refusing to let anything bring her off of Cloud Nine.

"The fact that you just got engaged and we're not even married," James said with a smirk.

"Don't get any ideas, Mister," Lily said sternly. "I'm not ready for that yet."

"Who said I was getting ideas?" James asked innocently.

Lily snorted. "That's all you do, is get ideas about everything. One of these days, they're going to get you into real trouble."

"Real trouble?" James asked with a grin. "That's already happened multiple times."

Lily rolled her eyes as they reached the portrait. "And I just know you're completely proud of it. Love," she said the password, and the portrait swung open.

"Hey, it's the Potter's with their red-headed ladies," Sirius called with a grin.

"And this red-head comes with news," Ginny replied, wiggling her fingers in front of her.

Hermione squealed and jumped to her feet, throwing her arms around Harry and Ginny. "I'm so happy for you!" she exclaimed.

After momentary shock over Hermione's reaction, everyone else congratulated the couple as well.

"Congratulations, mate," Ron said with a grin. "I wasn't sure you had it in ya."

"Ron!" Hermione said, hitting her boyfriends arm.

"Kidding, kidding!" Ron exclaimed, holding his hands up.

Ginny didn't even have it in her to hex her brother, she was so happy.

Lily somehow managed to extract the girls from the Common Room and lead them into her room, where they spent hours fantasizing and admiring Ginny's ring and Harry's proposal. That left the boys in the Common Room for the time being.

"So, Harry. How long are you going to wait to marry her?" James asked with a grin.

Harry laughed. "Quite frankly, I'd marry her tomorrow if her I knew her mother wouldn't kill us. When I asked her and Mr. Weasley for permission, she burst into tears, and then threatened me and told me she would never speak to either of us again if we eloped. She said to have the wedding whenever we wanted, just don't elope."

"She did?" Ron asked incredulously. "When I said I was thinking of asking Hermione to marry me, she didn't threaten me."

Harry smirked. "Would Hermione ever let you elope?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "Miss sensible, traditional, Hermione Granger?"

Ron went red. "I guess you have a point, mate."

Harry nodded. "Exactly. And if your Mum persuaded Ginny and I to wait an insanely long time to get married, Ginny would have convinced me to elope. Your Mum knows that," Harry finished his explanation with a wry grin.

Draco chuckled. "Anyone here actually thinking of eloping?" He asked amusedly.

"Definitely." Sirius said. "If I ever get married, I'm not going through all of that formal wedding crap. That's for sissies."

Harry started choking on his sip of water.

"No offense, mate," Sirius said with a laugh.

**A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter—lots of fluff, and there is more to come(just a warning haha). Please review!**


	14. Chapter 13: Consequences of the Mark

Chapter 13: Consequences of the Mark

**A/N: Here's chapter thirteen! It's a little more solemn to break up the fluff a bit. Hope you enjoy! Review please!**

"All I can say is, I'm glad I ran away, otherwise I'd have to go through all of the formalities of a Black pureblood wedding. Sorry Draco, but unless you run away, I guess that's your fate."

Draco shrugged. "I've long since accepted there are some things I can't get out of, simply because I'm a Malfoy. But thank Merlin Voldemort's gone by now. My father won't be as insistent that I marry a wealthy Slytherin pure-blood witch," Draco said, finishing with scorn.

"Your father's not in Azkaban?" Sirius asked. "He didn't force you to join the Death Eaters? My cousin Narcissa said he was very controlling, so I find that hard to believe."

Draco stiffened and opened his mouth, but Harry spoke first. "Lucius was controlling, but I testified both for Narcissa and Draco to get off on charges and they excused Lucius, too."

Sirius looked at Draco with wide eyes. "Do you have it?" he asked, a hard look on his face.

Draco flinched. "I had no choice. He threatened my whole family." His voice was soft at first, but got harsher as he continued.

"Sirius, leave it. If Harry testified for him, then he obviously believes he didn't deserve to go to Azkaban," James said calmly.

"Why did you testify for him?" Sirius asked, looking at Harry strangely. "Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater," he said bitterly.

"Draco never was a Death Eater," Harry said in a low voice. "He was a coward. He may have the mark, but it's because Voldemort threatened to kill his mother after his father failed him one too many times. His father was in Azkaban already, thank Merlin, otherwise he certainly would have been killed." Harry kept talking, his eyes firmly locked with Sirius'. "Last year, when we were captured and brought to Malfoy Manor, Draco didn't let on that he knew exactly who we were, even when Bellatrix asked. And as for Narcissa, she saved my life by not telling Voldemort that I was still alive during the Final Battle. Neither of them deserved to go to Azkaban, and while maybe Lucius did, he also didn't have his wand for the last year of the war, so-" Suddenly, there was a frightened scream. Harry stopped speaking and jumped to his feet, whipping out his wand as he did so.

Jose paled. "That's Kacey. She must be having another of her nightmares." The boys ran into Lily's room and crowded with the girls around Kacey's bed. She was tossing and turning and Sarah had hold of her hand. "Kacey, wake up!" Jose snapped. He brushed her hair off of her forehead and leaned down. "Kacey, it's alright. You weren't there, wake up." A moment more of his soft murmuring and Kacey shot up in bed, eyes wide and full of tears. Jose took her in his arms and rocked her, everyone else slowly leaving the room to sit in the Common Room.

When they had all taken seats, everyone's eyes immediately swung towards Sarah, who was sitting next to Draco, face pale and holding his hand tightly. She spoke without being asked.

"We have an older brother," she began quietly. "His name is John. During the war, he went to England to fight. He was injured terribly, he got hit with a spell that slashed his body from head to toe, and was tortured on top of that. When we went to visit the hospital, Kacey could barely stay in the room. She has nightmares about what happened to him."

"What about you?" Draco asked quietly, regretting the fact that it was probably someone he knew that sent her brother to the hospital.

"I'm alright," Sarah replied, shrugging. "I don't have nightmares often, and when I do...they aren't that bad."

"Did he die?" Lily asked softly.

Sarah shook her head. "No, thank Merlin. It took him a long time to recover, and he still walks with a minor limp, but other than that and mental trauma, he's alright."

"Who was it?" Draco asked quietly.

"He never told me. I know he testified after the war, but he never told any of us who did it."

"Hey, it's alright. That's over now. John's okay." Jose murmured, leaning back on her bed with Kacey in his arms.

"I know," Kacey said tearfully, burying her face in Jose's neck. "It just...it's so scary, to think of what must have happened to him, what must have been done to put him in that condition."

"Just try not to think about it," Jose replied, stroking her hair back. "Think about how he was laughing with us this summer, and teasing you about me, and making fun of Sarah for her shoe and earring obsession."

Kacey giggled quietly. "I guess that's the way to go, huh?"

"Definitely," Jose replied. "Now, shh, go to sleep."

"Will you stay with me?" Kacey asked, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I'll be here," Jose replied. It wasn't long before her breathing slowed down and she was asleep, allowing Jose to relax into dreamland as well.

"Do you want to see if she's okay, Sarah?" Lily asked. "We can go back to bed if she is."

Sarah nodded and stood, heading towards Lily's room and leaving the Common Room in silence.

"Who else has nightmares about the war?" James asked suddenly. "Is everything that bad?"

The group from the future looked uneasily at each other. "I've had nightmares since fourth year." Harry spoke first.

"My first year," Ginny said quietly, and Harry winced.

"Since Malfoy Manor." Ron said, causing Draco's head to snap up.

"Since the Ministry," Hermione said. "Fifth year," she added for the benefit of the Marauders and Lily. "All I hear is that stupid baby voice Bellatrix used, and then what she said at Malfoy Manor."

"Since the summer after my fifth year." Draco spoke up last, his face pale.

Sirius looked at him with the most surprise. "I'm sorry," he blurted suddenly. "I was out of line with what I said."

Draco shrugged. "It's alright. I'm used to it," he said.

"No, it's not alright. I know what it's like to want to get out of the family lifestyle."

Draco laughed bitterly. "Except that for the first fifteen years of my life, I was perfectly fine with our lifestyle."

"Either way, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone that far," Sirius insisted.

Sarah came out of Lily's room. "They're asleep. Her eyes are a little red, but that's to be understood."

Lily, Hermione, and Ginny got to their feet. "Let's get back to bed, then." Hermione said softly.

All of the boys except Draco stood as well. "I think we'll be done for the night, too." James said.

"I'll be there in a minute," Draco said. "Sarah, come here."

The room emptied quickly, which left Sarah and Draco standing in the middle of the Common Room.

"Do you really not know who did it?" He asked quietly. "You're not just keeping quiet because it was someone from my family?"

"Of course not," Sarah replied quietly. "I wouldn't lie about that. I really don't know who did it...though it may have been more than one Death Eater. I haven't kept anything from you."

Draco nodded. "Alright. I just…" he broke off. "Good night." He leaned down and kissed her, then turned and walked to James' room.

"Good night," she called quietly after him.


	15. Chapter 14: A Proposal and a Revelation

Chapter 14: A Proposal and a Revelation

The girls woke early the next morning. Jose had disappeared sometime during the night. It was Christmas, after all. They immediately started opening their presents, when suddenly Sarah paused.

"Guys...did you hear that? What was that?" She and the others looked around, all seeming to spot the pen in the middle of the room at the same moment. Kacey jumped out of bed.

"There's a note here. It says, 'One of the cats in the castle just had kittens. We got one for each of you.'" She leaned down to look in the pen and gasped. The other girls jumped out of bed and stood next to her. "It says the color of the collar corresponds with the color of the owner's dress last night."

"Oh my," Lily said, smiling as she leaned down to pick up a kitten in a dark green collar. It was beige, with white face, paws, and tummy. "Oh, she's adorable," Lily breathed.

Ginny grinned and picked up the kitten wearing the silver collar. It was orange with white feet and a white patch around one of it's eyes.

Hermione picked up the one in the white collar, cooing at it. It was black with a white face, paws and tummy, the same markings as Lily's.

Kacey's kitten was all white with orange feet. She laughed when she picked it up, straightening it's blue collar. "Jose obviously knew I'd like the unique one," she said with a smile.

Sarah picked up her hers last. In a red collar, it was all black except for one white paw, and a little splash of white on her forehead.

"Let's name them!" Kacey said with a grin. "I think I like...Ruby."

"That's a great name!" Hermione grinned. "I'm going to name mine Krystal."

"I want a unique name. I like Mora," Ginny said, after considering for a moment.

Lily stared at her kitten, pondering. "I'm naming mine Elena."

Sarah grinned at her kitten, which was staring at her with big eyes. "I'm naming mine Jazz," she said with a grin, setting her on the bed. "Go on, Jazzy, make yourself comfortable."

The girls got back on their beds with their kittens and opened the rest of their presents. They got candy and tricks from the boys, from their boyfriends, they got cat supplies, and from each other, various trinkets they loved. Kacey was opening her last gift, a small box from Jose, when she found a note inside it, telling her to meet him in one of the abandoned classrooms in the school. She grinned and called first dibs on the shower. It was probably the quickest she had ever gotten ready, and when she was finished, she grabbed Ruby and headed to meet Jose.

"How much do you want to bet he's doing something special?" Ginny asked with a grin after Kacey left.

"I already know he is," Sarah said with a mysterious grin. She stood and grabbed Jazz before anyone could ask any questions. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go thank my boyfriend for this lovely kitten."

Lily watched her leave, an amused look on her face. "I bet I can guess what he's planning," she said wryly.

Ginny and Hermione laughed and nodded, before getting ready themselves to face the new day.

Kacey reached the classroom with a spring in her step. Opening the door slowly, she gasped when she saw what Jose had done. There were a couple of desks in the middle of the room, the rest pushed to the side, and they were covered in tablecloths that had place settings and candles on them. He stood with a grin on his face next to what she assumed was her chair.

"Will you have a seat?" He asked, taking her hand and pushing her chair in.

He then sat across from her and snapped his fingers. Two house elves appeared, set a plate in front of each of them, and disappeared.

"I would have made breakfast, but the house elves wouldn't let me use their kitchen."

Kacey laughed, "If they had known how good of a cook you are, they would have reconsidered," she said, breathing in the smells of chocolate chip pancakes. "My favorite," she said with a grin.

Jose nodded and they dug in. They ate and talked quietly, Kacey thanking him for the kitten, which she loved. They also had a good laugh at said kitten as she explored the room and climbed all over the desks. When they finished their meal, Jose got a serious look on his face.

"You know I love you, right?" he asked, a little nervously.

"Yes," Kacey replied with a smile. "I love you, too."

"Okay. I love you so much that sometimes it feels as if I can't breathe when I'm not in the same room with you. You're like the other half of me, my soul mate. I want you to be mine forever, and so..." Jose stood and got on one knee in front of Kacey, taking her hand with one of his and holding a small black box with the other. "Kacey Lynne Coelho," he flipped the box open, revealing a gold ring with a diamond in the center, flanked by smaller diamonds and sapphires that interchanged halfway around the ring. "Will you marry me?"

Kacey gasped and nodded feverishly. "Yes, Jose, yes, I'll marry you," she said with tears in her eyes. Jose slipped the ring on her finger and she pulled him to his feet, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him. He kissed her back, a grin on his face. "I love you," she said when she pulled away.

"And I love you," he replied, kissing her again.

Kacey pulled away with a grin. Her face was completely lit up as she scooped up Ruby and grabbed his hand. "Let's go tell the gang," she said with a grin. They got back to the Head Common Room quickly, brusting through the doors with grins on their faces. Kacey took it in stride when she saw her parents there. The minute she and Jose entered the room, Sarah jumped out of Draco's lap, an excited look on her face. "Guess what?" Kacey said excitedly.

"What?" Sarah practically jumped forward.

Kacey held out her hand and before she could get the words out, Sarah threw her arms around her and squealed. Kacey responded with a squeal of her own. When they pulled apart, Sarah hugged Jose as well. "I told you that you could do it!" she exclaimed.

By then, everyone figured out what had happened and gathered around, offering congratulations. Ginny and Kacey compared rings with good-natured grins.

"It's funny that Mum and Dad were in here when we came to tell everyone," Kacey said with a grin. "I mean, Harry's Mum and Dad were the first to know about you, it's only right that my parents were two of the first to know as well!"

"What?" Kathy's shocked voice came from behind Kacey, and she spun around, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. The room went silent, as if sensing confrontation. "I just came to tell you guys that Joe proposed last night, like Harry did."

Everyone immediately started congratulating the other couple, the time travelers hoping Kathy would forget what she overheard. No such luck.

When the room started to quiet down a little, Kathy spoke. "What did you mean it was only right that your parents were here when you announced your engagement?" she asked.

Kacey exchanged glances with Sarah. "Um...Sarah and I are from the future...you're our parents."

Kathy's mouth dropped open and Joe swore. "Isn't the main rule of time travel not to be seen? Or tell anyone of the future?" Kathy asked, an eyebrow raised.

"See..." Sarah said, wringing her hands, "we seem to fail at time travel. At least following the rules of it. We've given away at least a dozen things, and were seen almost immediately, mainly because we hadn't realized we went back in time until Harry's parents walked around the corner."

Kathy's eyes widened and she looked at Harry. "That must have been a shock."

"You've no idea." Harry replied with a roll of his eyes. "We were at a Halloween dance in our time, and the minute we all took a bite of food, there was this big flash of light and we ended up on the other side of the school. The next second...the Marauders and my mother walked around the corner. The bottom line is, knowing that you're Kacey and Sarah's parents isn't going to change the future. You're already engaged, so...just go through life as you planned to."

"You're twins?" Joe asked, stepping forward. Sarah nodded.

"Do we have any other kids?" Kathy asked curiously.

"We have an older brother," Kacey said with a grin. "John."


	16. Chapter 15: A Dangerous Encounter

Chapter 15: A Dangerous Encounter

Later that evening, after Joe and Kathy left, James, Lily, Harry, and Ginny decided to take a walk down to the lake.

"So, are you going to find Lucius next and introduce him to his son?" James asked amusedly as they left the school.

"Shut up," Harry said, irritated but with a grin on his face.

"I really don't think that would be such a good idea," Ginny said with a laugh. "He's immersed in Death Eater crap at the moment, I honestly don't understand how he even married Narcissa and had Draco if he was spending so much time working his way up to being Voldie's right-hand-man," Ginny mused.

"Is this something you've thought about a lot?" Harry asked, amused.

Ginny blushed. "No. Just recently, since Draco started hanging with Sarah."

"Why do you all call him Voldie?" James asked suddenly, a screwed up look on his face.

Ginny giggled. "Why not smite him even more by giving him a nickname?" She grinned.

Harry laughed and threw an arm around her shoulders.

"The other funny thing..." Lily said slowly. "All of you say his name."

"You can thank Harry for that," Ginny said with a grin. "He's said his name since the very beginning."

"Got it from Dumbledore," Harry said with a shrug. "Ron, Hermione, and Ginny got it from me, during DA meetings. Draco…I don't know when he started calling him by his name. Maybe he decided not to be so afraid of someone who no longer has control over his life. And Sarah and Kacey...well, I sort of snapped at them when they continued to call him 'You-Know-Who'. "

Ginny laughed. "That was hilarious. I think it was the first time they saw you show some serious emotion after all that brooding."

"Hey, now. Go easy. I had a right to brood," Harry said, faking an injured look.

"You had absolutely no right to brood, and you know it," Ginny said, elbowing her fiancé.

"Brood about what?" James asked, giving Harry a look when he groaned.

"Brood in self-pity and guilt that he had no right to feel," Ginny said nonchalantly. "He was a git back then. He was lucky I loved him enough to snap him out of it."

Harry's cheeks flamed. "An angry Ginny is something I never want to be faced with again," Harry said in a low voice.

"You made it up to me, afterwards," Ginny said with a grin.

Harry looked at her, eyes smoldering. "You've got that right," he said with a smirk.

"So, what's the DA?" Lily said quickly, afraid her son was going to pounce on his fiance. He had that look in his eye.

James looked amused. "Yeah, why don't get your mind out of the gutter?"

Harry ignored him and answered Lily's question. "In my fifth year we had that horrible toad of a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She didn't teach us anything but theory, and was following a Ministry-approved curriculum. I got detention more than once for telling her it was rubbish, seeing as Voldemort had come back barely three months before. Hermione decided we should start our own defense group, with me as the teacher," Harry said, shaking his head. "Somehow, she convinced me to go along with it, and so Dumbledore's Army was formed. The week after our first meeting, Umbridge put up a Decree disbanding all gatherings of three people or more. It didn't stop us. And Dumbledore saved us when we got caught. Thank god, because technically what we were doing was illegal," He shrugged. "Those were some pretty good months."

Lily groaned. "James, why does he have to be so much like you?"

Ginny laughed, "He's brilliant. You know," she said to Harry. "You should really think about teaching in your future. God knows McGonagall could always use a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"Ha," Harry said dryly. "And have kids stare at me like I'm their idol and ask multiple questions about the Hunt and Battle? I don-" He swore when a jet of red light came out of nowhere. Slashing his wand through the air, he brought up a shield charm quick as lightning. James pushed Lily behind him, but Harry just squeezed Ginny's hand and stood shoulder to shoulder with her. "Who's there?" he snapped harshly.

"Aww, is wittle baby Potter scared?" The familiar voice caused sparks to shoot out of Harry's wand. The maniacal cackle that followed sent chills down Lily's spine. "The Dark Lord will be pleased," the woman hissed, stepping out from behind a tree.

"Bellatrix," Harry snarled, stepping forward. "What do you want?"

"Look at that," Another familiar voice drawled. "Potter defending the Mudblood."

"I don't need defending," Lily spat. "Not against the likes of you."

And unfamiliar voice shouted next. "Stupefy!" The red jet of light was blocked by Harry yet again.

James' face went pale. He obviously recognized the voice. The next second spells erupted from the darkness and all of them were retaliating. Harry came face to face with Bellatrix, James with the unknown Death Eater, and Ginny and Lily teamed up against Lucius. For Ginny, it was personal, considering the fact that he had slipped the diary into her cauldron before her first year. For Lily, it was because she wanted all of this to end.

"Aww, little baby Potter giving it his best shot," Bellatrix whined. "Wait until the Dark Lord hears there two of you. My cousin said there were, but I wasn't sure whether to believe him or not." She hissed when one of Harry's curses narrowly missed her. On either side of her, Lucius was retreating, and the unknown Death Eater had gotten hit by a couple of spells already.

"Bella," Lucius gasped, "We've got to leave,"

A second later, all three Death Eaters had disappeared.

"James," Lily's voice came out of the darkness. "I think...my arm..." she trailed off on a gasp.

While James went to Lily, Harry had Ginny in his arms in record time. "Are you alright?" he asked frantically, brushing hair back from her face and touching the scratch on her cheek lightly.

"Fine," she gasped, then groaned, "My ankle."

"Alright, let's get you to the hospital wing. Dad, let's get them to the hospital wing."

A half an hour later, James and Harry were sitting next to Ginny and Lily's beds. Lily had broken her arm from one of Lucius' curses, and Ginny had fractured her ankle. The foursome had talked to Dumbledore about the attack, and James had kept mum on the third Death Eaters name, though Harry knew he was aware of who it was.

"Who was the last Death Eater?" he asked in a hushed voice when Professor Dumbledore finally left. When James paled, he continued, "It was Regulus, wasn't it?"

"How did you know?" James asked, his hand shaking as he gripped Lily's.

Harry shrugged. "There's no other Death Eater you would lie to Dumbledore about+, to protect."

They all jumped when the doors slammed open and their friends rushed in, led by Ron, with a frantic Hermione behind him.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He snapped, immediately rounding on Harry.

"What are you talking about, Ron?" Harry hissed back, getting to his feet. Ginny narrowed her eyes from her bed.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! You think they just appeared there because of a coincidence? They came for you! And almost got Ginny while they were at it!"

Harry flinched. "You know that's not true," he said steadily.

"You were all too keen to believe it at the funeral when you broke up with Ginny!" Ron said back, clenching his fists and taking a step forward.

"Don't go there, Ron, don't go there!" Harry said angrily.

"You're taking this attack too lightly!" Ron snapped. "The same as you took Ginny's detention with Hagrid too lightly! The same as you took Ted's comment about the Weasley's being lucky that another of their kids wasn't hurt!"

"Is that was this is about?" Harry hissed. "That's over, Ron! It's over! I already told you what they meant by that, and when you got back to Shell Cottage, I was proved right, wasn't I?"

"It doesn't matter, it was still your fault! The Death Eaters are always after you!" Ron yelled.

"Not this time, Ron! Before, maybe that would have worked, but now we're not even in our own time! Get it through your head, Ron! They weren't after me this time! In this time, I don't even exist! They didn't know I was here until tonight, and even then, they don't know who I am in regards to Voldemort." Harry shook his head when he finished talking, and then strode from the room, leaving it in silence.

Ginny spoke first. "You had no right to say that to him. You, more than anybody, know what goes through his mind. You know he blames himself for everything, and the first time it wasn't actually his fault, you stick the blame on him!" Ginny snapped, tears filling her eyes. "And for the record? Take to heart something Harry already knows. I can take care of myself," she ended in a hiss, and Ron stared at her in surprise before turning and leaving the room.

"I tried to calm him down." Hermione said quietly.

"She really did," Kacey spoke next. "It was like she knew exactly how he would react."

"Kacey...I would go after him if I could, but seeing as I can't really get out of bed right now, will you?"

"Yea," Kacey smiled sadly, kissed Jose's cheek, and went after Harry.

"Hermione, you may want to go after Ron. Get him to apologize, or at least start to. Knowing Harry, he won't let him finish, but have him make the effort."

"Harry's a saint. Sometimes I wonder how they're still friends," Hermione said, shaking her head as she left the wing. "Ron was out of line."

"I think we all figured that out," Draco drawled.

"Draco," Sarah said warningly, squeezing his hand.

"So, would I be correct in assuming at least one of my family members was there today?" Draco asked, pulling up a chair at the foot of Ginny's bed.

"Unfortunately, you would. All three of them, actually. Your father, your aunt, and your cousin."

Sirius' face went white. "Did you tell Dumbledore?" He looked straight at James.

"Not about Regulus, but I think he suspected," James said softly.

"Are you all okay?" Draco asked, looking at Ginny and Lily mostly. "Auntie Bellatrix is harsh with her wand."

"Lily and I got your father," Ginny said. "Blame him for her arm and my face. Harry got Bellatrix, and he seemed fine, but if he's hurt, he's also not likely to say anything."

Madame Pomfrey suddenly came out of her office and shrieked when she saw how many people were in the hospital wing. "All of you, out! My patients need rest!"

James managed to get permission to stay, but the others headed back to the Common Room.

Kacey found Harry in an empty classroom not far from the hospital wing. He was standing at the back, just staring out the window. She imagined he was remembering the damage after the Final Battle as he looked over the grounds.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Ginny send you?" he asked in a low voice, amused as he glanced back at her.

Kacey gave him a sheepish smile and crossed the room to stand next to him.

"It wasn't your fault," she said.

Harry laughed. "I know. This time, I know that. But Ron sort up dredged up old feelings."

"You shouldn't let what he says get to you," Kacey said quietly. "He says them out of anger or fear, and that's the time when people say things they regret. Just give him some time to cool off. He'll come around."

"He always does," Harry said with a smirk.

"And it isn't true," Kacey said a bit reprovingly, guessing the thoughts that went through his head. "You didn't take anything the wrong way, and I know you're taking the attack just as seriously, if not more seriously, than Ron thinks he is."

Harry nodded slightly. "I know. Thanks, Kacey. I'm going back to the Common Room. Tell Ginny I'm alright and she can take a breath. No brooding for me at the moment."

Kacey grinned and nodded, leaving the room and heading back to the hospital wing.

**A/N: Hey, guys! We hope you enjoyed that little bit of drama! Please review and tell us what you think.**


	17. Chapter 16: Stories

Chapter 16: Stories

Kacey came back into the hospital wing barely a minute after the others left and Ginny sat up straight in bed. They were lucky Madame Pomfrey had already retreated to her office again.

"What did he say?" Ginny asked, biting her lip.

"He's alright," Kacey reassured her. "I told him not to let what Ron said get to him, and reminded him that it wasn't true about a thousand times."

"How did Ron hit a nerve that badly?" Lily asked quietly from the next bed. James looked at Ginny curiously as well.

Ginny hesitated and then decided it couldn't hurt. "Harry has a tendency to blame himself whenever someone he cares about gets hurt."

James looked baffled. "Why would he do that?"

Ginny hesitated again. "Well, the night Voldemort came back was the night of the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament. Harry's name was drawn from the Goblet of Fire after it was hoodwinked. He didn't put his name in, someone else did. And that same someone turned the Triwizard Cup into a Portkey to take him to the graveyard Voldemort was supposed to return. He tried the best he could to make sure Harry reached the cup first. But he didn't count on Harry's selflessness. He and the other Hogwarts champion reached the trophy at the same time. Harry had just helped the other champion out of a bind with an Acromantula, and so the other champion told Harry to take the Cup. Harry insisted they take it at the same time. So they were both transported to the graveyard, and the other champion was killed."

Lily gasped. "Oh my...that must have been terrible."

"That's why his nightmares started that summer," Ginny finished quietly.

"There's got to be more than that," James said.

"He blamed himself for Sirius, too," Ginny said. "But let's not go over that right now." She turned back to Kacey. "Did he say whether or not he was coming back?"

"He said he was going to the common room," Kacey said, sitting in Harry's vacated chair.

"Oh, well-"

"How was Sirius's death considered Harry's fault?" James interrupted, raising an eyebrow at Ginny.

"Didn't I just say we'd leave that for now? The bottom line is, it wasn't his fault. He was merely being an idiot when he drowned in guilt afterwards. No worries, I managed to push that through his thick head," Ginny said curtly. "If the time comes, you may find out, but I really don't wish to talk about it right now." She suddenly laughed. "Funny how at the Ministry it was Lucius who broke my ankle, and he nearly broke it this time, too." Ginny sighed. "I just want out of the hospital wing. Either I'm always in here with Harry when he gets hurt or I'm in here myself."

"How does it feel being in here in the past?" Lily asked with a grin.

"No different," Ginny said amusedly. "But good try. Well," she amended, "No different except for the company. Kacey, you should probably get back to the common room before Madame Pomfrey catches you. Tell Harry his mission tomorrow is to break me out of this wing. Make sure you remind him that it will be fairly easy compared to any other mission he's had to take on so far."

Kacey laughed, getting to her feet. "No worries, Ginny. Your ankle isn't that bad, I'm sure Madame Pomfrey will let you out first thing tomorrow, and if not, I doubt Harry will hesitate in breaking you out. That boy will do anything for you." And she turned on her heel and left; Ginny figured she was going to spend a little time with Jose.

"Ginny...I have a question," Lily asked hesitantly.

"Ask away." Ginny said with a sigh. "I can't guarantee I'll answer you, but it's worth a try."

James looked at Lily, who had an anxious look on her face and a sad look in her eyes. "What's wrong, babe?"

"It's just...everyone's talking about Harry's life as if it was nothing but hardships. At least after he got to Hogwarts. Was his childhood good? Did he still have fun times at school, even through yearly attacks from Voldemort?"

Ginny was silent for a moment. Then she looked at her hands in her lap and spoke. "His childhood was hard. That's all I'm really going to say. There was, of course, the factor of growing up without you...and the way the Dursley's treated him. I'm not going to say anything more about that. As for after he got to school, he met Ron and Hermione. They had great times. They're his best friends. He met Ron first. He didn't know how to get onto the platform, and asked my Mum, who introduced them right away, of course." Ginny grinned. "I remember, when we realized who he was, begging Mum to go on the train and meet him. She didn't let me, and then when I actually met him the summer before my first year, I completely embarrassed myself. I knocked over a porridge bowl and stuck my elbow in the butter dish at one point during breakfast when he asked me a question, and the first time he said hi, I was still in my pajamas, so I blushed crimson and ran back upstairs."

Lily laughed. "Tell me more little things," she said eagerly, a smile on her face.

"Okay," Ginny said, thinking back. "Oh! The beginning of his friendship with Hermione is a really good story," Ginny grinned. "They did not get off to a good start. Hermione was very much a know-it-all goody-two-shoes when she was younger. In her first year she was under the impression that being expelled was worse than death." James snorted. "Anyway, they were learning the levitation spell in Charms, and Ron was having some trouble with it. Hermione, of course, corrected him and told him he was saying it wrong. Ron challenged her to do it and she succeeded on the first try. When they all left class, Ron vented to Harry about how she was a nightmare, and it was no wonder she didn't have any friends. Hermione overheard and they heard later that she was crying in one of the bathrooms. It was Halloween night, and when everyone but Hermione was at the feast, their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, who actually had Voldemort on the back of his head, came running in to the Great Hall to announce that there was a troll in the dungeons. Harry's saving-people thing kicked in for the first time, and he dragged Ron with him to go and warn Hermione about the troll because she didn't know about it. However, as they approached the girls bathroom, they heard screaming and realized that the troll was already in the bathroom with Hermione. So instead of getting a teacher, they rushed in and somehow, through 'sheer dumb luck', according to McGonagall, they knocked out the troll and saved Hermione. From then on, they were pretty inseparable—except for a few notable incidents in later years involving Ron and one of them."

James' mouth was wide open by the end of the story. "They knocked out a troll in first year?!"

Ginny grinned, "They did."

"Will all of your stories leave us wondering how he's survived this long?" Lily asked in a high voice.

Ginny grimaced slightly and shrugged helplessly. "Most of them, I'm afraid."

James grinned. "Tell us more!"

Ginny sighed. "Let's think...okay, the summer before my first year, the only way Harry was able to come to my house, was when Fred and George, my twin brothers, and Ron, flew to his house in my Dad's flying car and busted him out." She grinned. "And then, after getting in trouble for that, they ended up driving to school in it-Harry and Ron, I mean-because a crazy but awesome house-elf sealed the barrier because he wanted to protect Harry. They flew into the Whomping Willow."

"Wicked!" James said with a grin, and Lily gasped and hit his arm.

"I can't believe him! He was just as bad as you were in pranks, too!"

"I will give him the fact that he didn't mean to," Ginny said, grinning. "Let's see, in third year Hermione punched Draco Malfoy in the face...Ron did the same thing during the Final Battle, but I'm not there yet. Um...he had to learn the Patronus charm because dementors were at the school and they affected him more than anyone, which he became especially aware of after he fell off his broom during a Quidditch match when they entered the grounds. He was okay, though!" She said hastily. "During the next Quidditch match, dementors appeared on the field again. He had his wand with him, and he performed the Patronus Charm. After he caught the Snitch he flew back down to the ground and it turned out the dementors weren't real dementors, but instead Draco, and his cronies Crabbe and Goyle. His Patronus scared the crap out of them." She stopped a moment to grin at James' and Lily's laughter.

"Let's hear more," James said eagerly. He looked like a kid on Christmas, drinking in the stories.

"This isn't exactly a Harry story, but in order to choose champions for the Triwizard Tournament, you had to put your name in the Goblet of Fire. You also had to be seventeen and Dumbledore drew an age line around the Goblet so no one under seventeen could put their names in. Fred and George took an aging potion, because their birthday was only a few months away. When they crossed the line, they thought it worked, and everyone was cheering, when suddenly they were thrown out of the circle with white beards. They've always had a knack for bringing life to the school. Okay, sorry, back on track," Ginny grinned at Lily and James, who shared a laugh over that story, too.

"I think I would have liked them," James said happily.

"You were their role models," Ginny said with a smirk. "They found your map in Filch's office and used it ever since, until they gave it to Harry in his third year. Next story. In his fourth year, Harrry was arguing with Draco, and turned around to leave, but apparently Draco pulled out his wand to curse Harry's back. Professor Moody, who was actually a Death Eater in disguise, turned Malfoy into a white ferret." Ginny grinned as James snorted. "Okay, there have got to more stories that Harry's told me. Oh, well, Harry didn't miss out on everything. My dad managed to get tickets to the Quidditch World Cup the summer before my third year and Harry got to go to that. Ireland won."

James shook his head in disbelief. "All the small things I've done completely equal up to the big things Harry has, and I count the ones you've told me on one hand!" he said in astonishment.

Lily looked over at him doubtfully. "I wouldn't go that far," she said, pursing her lips. "You've done some pretty big things here, too."

Ginny giggled. "Harry's feats range as more life threatening on the scale," she said amusedly.

Lily looked at her for a moment. "You're perfect for him, aren't you?"

Ginny blushed red. "What do you mean?"

"You've been here for two months and I can tell you two are completely in love."

"I'd sure hope so," Ginny said with a grin. "I'm marrying him, aren't I?"

"There is that," Lily said with a smile. "But you're so alike, and so different at the same time. You both have the firey tempers, but you can be a little more violent without thinking and Harry does think of what he's doing."

Ginny grinned. "I think I'll take that as a compliment."

"You're also a striking couple together," Lily continued, "And you've been through so much that you balance with each other perfectly."

"And you're a redhead," James chimed in. Lily gave him a dubious look. "What?" he said defensively. "It's true. All Potters marry redheads."

Lily shook her head at him. "I hope Harry doesn't act like him," she said amusedly.

"Occasionally he does," Ginny said with a grin, "but that's to be expected. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"So that means he had girls chasing after him all through school?" James asked eagerly.

Ginny sighed. "He did but he's only really gone out with me and one other, and she barely even counted," Ginny shrugged. "Doesn't mean I like her," she added.

They heard a chuckle from the doorway. "The look you gave her when she came up to me in Diagon Alley could have killed," Harry said amusedly, walking over to Ginny's bed and sliding on next to her, pulling her into his body.

"I thought you were going back to the Common Room?" Ginny asked, leaning up to kiss him gently.

"I was, but I have trouble sleeping so far away from you," Harry said amusedly. "And I didn't really say goodnight. Of course, now that I'm here, you may not be able to get rid of me."

Ginny giggled. "That's alright with me, love."

"Good," Harry said with an indulgent look. "So what have you been talking about? Besides my love life," he gave an amused look to his father.

"I've been telling them Harry stories." Ginny said with a smile.

"Oh, really? What kind of stories?"

"I told them about how you became friends with Hermione, my embarrassing stories the first time you came to the Burrow, about the flying car, when Hermione punched Draco, when you sent your Patronus at Draco dressed as a dementor, about Fred and George's aging potion, about Draco and the white ferrett, and that we went to the Quidditch Cup." Harry chuckled as she listed the stories but raised his eyebrow at the last one she mentioned.

"Just that I went to the Cup?" He asked carefully.

"Yup. And had a great time at the game. And before the game," Ginny grinned. "Remember when Dad was trying to put the tent up? And when he couldn't light matches?"

Harry grinned. "I do remember that. So you got through fifth year, huh?" Harry asked, taking a moment to think. "I can't really think of many funny stories from my fifth and sixth year," he said finally.

"No funny stories?" James asked. "None at all?" He and Lily looked dismayed.

"Oh, well...We already told you about the twins with the fireworks and the swamp. That was my fifth year." He paused a moment and then added, "And I'm fairly certain that some time after the toad had been made headmistress, I saw Professor McGonagall telling Peeves how to unscrew a chandelier."

"Minnie? Minnie McGonagall? Are we talking about the same woman here?" James asked incredulously.

"Yes, we are. I told you, the toad was a teacher from hell. She was given the job of inspecting all of the other teachers as well, which was a big reason they all hated her. We also already told you that when Flitwick got rid of the swamp, he left a section roped off in memory of what the twins did to drive Umbridge up the wall." Harry grinned. "They later started a joke shop, and it's more popular than Zonko's. They bought out the store in Hogsmeade. And, they were the only students Peeves has ever listened to. When they dropped out, they told Peeves to 'give her hell', and Peeves saluted them."

Lily and James looked astonished and Harry grinned. Ginny gave him a smile and then grabbed his hand. "You know, Harry. I was telling James and Lily here that your job tomorrow was going to be breaking me out of here. Are you able to do it now?" She asked brightly. Harry laughed.

"Well...I don't know." He brought his hand down to his pocket for a moment and the next second, Harry and Ginny had disappeared. James and Lily heard a squeal and then silence.

"Did he really just do that?" James asked, wide-eyed. They watched the hospital wing door for any signs of it opening. It didn't move.

"They were just joking with us," Lily said reassuringly, but she sounded skeptical. "Harry wouldn't really do that, would he?"

James chuckled. "I don't think we really know what Harry would do, love."

Outside the hospital wing, Harry carried Ginny bridal style down the hallway. They were under his Invisibility Cloak. She was laughing-silently because of the silencing charm he'd put on her. She hit him after a moment and Harry looked down at her, amused. "Are you going to be quiet?" he whispered. When she nodded vigorously, he undid the silencing charm and continued walking.

"Do they know we left?" Ginny asked quietly.

Harry chuckled softly. "Considering I put an illusion on the door to make it look like it didn't open? I don't think so."

"I didn't expect you to actually do it, you know." Ginny said amusedly.

"Anything for you, love." Harry said with a smile. "So, where are we going?"

Ginny smiled sheepishly. "We should probably go back to the hospital wing so your parents don't worry." she said amusedly.

Harry sighed but turned around obediently. He paused, however, when they reached the hospital wing doors.

"Where did Miss Weasley go?" Madame Pomfrey was saying shrilly.

"I...we-!" Lily stuttered.

Madame Pomfrey waved her off. "I bet it was that Harry Potter! Like father, like son, and this is something you would do!" she accused James.

At that moment, Harry walked out supporting Ginny from the other end of the hospital wing. "What's going on?" he asked, faking surprise.

"You!" Madame Pomfrey snapped. "Where were you?"

"Ginny needed help getting to the bathroom," Harry said with an eyebrow raised. "Where did you think we were?"

Madame Pomfrey stared at him as he eased Ginny back into the bed and sat on the edge. "Oh never mind," she muttered. "I come out to check on my patients and find one of them gone," and with that, she walked away.

"Where did you go?" James asked, eyes wide.

Harry shrugged. "We were halfway down the hallway but Ginny said we should come back in case we worried you."

"How did you get out the door?" Lily cried. "It didn't open."

"I put an illusion up," Harry said with a raised eyebrow. "That's how I got back inside, too. It's a good thing we came back when we did."

"Good cover," James agreed.

Lily was staring in shock. "Your illusion charms are really good. Even I can't perform one that well!"

James laughed. "He is a year older than you, Lils."

Harry shrugged, "Hermione taught me, and she's pretty much the best in our time."

"Pretty much?" Ginny asked amusedly. "She's definitely the best. She could do a Protean charm in her fifth year!"

"And it still works today," Harry added.

Ginny sighed and looked at Harry. "Are you staying here?"

Harry smiled. "If you want me to."

"I want," Ginny said with a grin.

"Alright then. Are you staying, Dad?" he asked James.

"I'll probably sleep on the chair, yeah," James said with a shrug, and Lily squeezed his hand as he helped her lay down on the bed.

"Night, guys," Harry said.

"Good night, Harry."

Harry and Ginny stared at each other for a few seconds before he helped her lay down and swung his legs up on the bed, laying next to her. He hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, kissing her neck from behind. "I love you."

"Love you, too," Ginny whispered, closing her eyes.

It didn't take long before they were asleep.

Lily looked up at James. "I'm so happy for them. For him. That's he's happy with her," she whispered.

"Me too, Lils, me too."


	18. Chapter 17: New Years

Chapter 17: New Years

**A/N: This is one of my favorite chapters, so I hope you guys enjoy! Also, a big thanks to our reviewers, especially Eli and scrappy8, we really enjoy hearing from you, and we'd love to hear from more of you, so keep reviewing, please!**

**Also, Disclaimer: Unfortunately, neither Kacey or I own the Harry Potter franchise, only our OC's and the story line, but we hope you enjoy anyway!**

They were having a party. Granted, it was a small party, but only because Lily refused to let Sirius invite half the school. Very few were allowed in the Head Common Room as it was, and they'd already gone over their maximum amount of visitors. Lily and Hermione managed to hook up the Muggle radio stations to the Wizarding wireless, and so it was playing a mix of both wizard and Muggle tunes. James, Harry, Ron, and Sirius had gone down to the kitchens-while Hermione was looking up a charm in the library-to get some food. Somehow they managed to bring up several trays in one trip, and they wouldn't tell Lily how they'd done it. The fire was roaring, and James and Remus had managed to charm a countdown clock to the wall.

"Four hours," Harry said with a grin, coming up to Ginny with two bottles of butterbeer.

"Thanks, babe," she took the bottle and took a sip before holding the bottle in front of her. "Did they spike these?" she asked suspiciously.

Harry laughed. "Sirius may have. Just don't drink more than one."

"We should ask him how much he put in," Ginny muttered.

Harry raised an eyebrow, looking over Ginny's shoulder. "Do you want to interupt them?"

Ginny turned around and laughed when she saw Sirius and Celeste sitting wrapped together on an armchair in a corner. They were extremely preoccupied with each other. "They remind me of Ron and Lavender," Ginny said, wrinkling her nose.

"Let's hope Hermione doesn't make that connection."

They both turned at Kacey's shriek. "Ah! Jose, stop it!" she yelped, laughing uncontrollably.

Jose had grabbed Kacey around the waist and was spinning her around to the music. After a minute of watching them, Sarah grabbed Draco's hand and pulled him to the middle of the room as well. He resisted for a few minutes, but finally she said something that made him roll his eyes and agree before he grabbed her hands and started to dance. Harry grabbed Ginny's hands and pulled her out to dance as well.

"Doesn't it feel good? Knowing that they're happy?" Kathy turned her head, moving it from Joe's shoulder to look at Lily, who was standing with James next to them.

"Yeah..." she said, "It's sort of weird, knowing everything-I mean, knowing who our kids are and who they grow up to be-but it's reassuring to know that-at least now-there's some point in their life when they're completely happy and in love."

Lily grinned. "Definitely. Especially considering James and I aren't even alive in their time," her smile faded. "And we weren't alive for a while."

"Hey," James said, throwing an arm around her, "Don't think on that. Think of all of the fun times we must have had before that. Me teaching him tricks to drive you crazy, and you teaching him tricks in secret and then denying it."

Lily laughed. "I can see that. I do see that. Whenever I close my eyes."

She leaned into James and he kissed the top of her head, murmuring, "You're going to be Lily Potter some day."

"If you told me that two years ago, I would have said you were crazy."

Remus laughed as Jose and Draco suddenly switched partners, catching each others girlfriends by an inch and nearly letting them crash into something. Katie glanced over at him and leaned her head on his shoulder, intertwining her fingers with his. They were sitting on a couch on the sidelines, and no one was really paying attention to them.

"Remus?" she said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"I-Can I ask you something?" She squeezed his hand in hers and moved to lay down so her head was in his lap.

He looked down at her, a little puzzled at her tentative question. She'd slowly been getting more comfortable with him and her hesitant attitude was a little surprising. "What's on your mind?" he asked, threading his fingers into her curly black hair and stroking it rhythmically with his thumb.

Katie bit her lip and stared up at him. "Where do you really go every month? You always seem to come back with cuts and injuries, and I've been worried these past few times. If you really are going home, and something's wrong, you should tell someone. But for some reason, I get the feeling you're not even going home."

Remus froze and stiffened. His hand stopped moving, his face lost all color, and his eyes widened. Then he clenched his fist in her hair before letting it go and running it through his own. Katie sat up, looking at him concernedly.

"I guess you don't have to tell me," she said, looking away. He squeezed her hand and she looked back to see him giving her a strained smile.

"No...you probably have a right to know. Out of anyone." He looked away from her and stared into the fire. "I...When I was young, my father angered a man...a horrible, sick, man. That man decided to take revenge by attacking me." Remus swallowed and took a breath, before looking back at Katie and saying in a flat voice, "I'm a werewolf."

Katie stared at him, eyes widening in horror. Remus blinked, his eyes grew pained, and he looked away. "That's why I didn't tell you," he said in a low voice, pulling his hand from her grasp.

"No..." Katie whispered, reaching for his hand again. He stared down at it and then looked up at her. "How could you think I'd pull away just because of that?" she asked, reaching her hand up to cup his cheek. "I...I was thinking...that must have been horrible for you."

Remus stared at her, apprehension written all over his face. "You...you really don't care?" He asked, voice breaking slightly. He swallowed.

"Not in the least," Katie whispered, tears coming to her eyes. " It kills me to think of you going through that. And all alone, every month..."she trailed off, looking away and Remus took her chin in his hand, a ghost of a smile on his face.

"Thank you," he said softly, and she didn't mention it, but she could tell his eyes were filled with tears. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't want to lose you. And I'm not alone," he smirked slightly.

Katie's eyes widened. "There's someone else?" she exclaimed.

"No! Not another werewolf!" Remus said quickly. "I meant..." he trailed off and glanced at James and Sirius, the only two Marauders in the room. Sirius was still wrapped around Celeste, but James was watching him. Remus had a feeling he knew exactly what they were discussing, and was ready to charge over and kill Katie if she said anything against him. Remus smiled slightly at him and raised an eyebrow in question. James grinned and gave a nod. Remus turned back to Katie, who was watching him questioningly.

"What was that about?" she asked uncertainly.

"I was making sure it was okay to tell you. And James said it was fine. James, Sirius, and Peter are Animagi. When they found out about me...they did research on werewolves and figured out that werewolf bites don't harm animals, so they became Animagi to be with me every full moon." Remus explained.

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Sirius and James did research?" She was rewarded when Remus chuckled. "But where do you go? What are they?"

Remus smiled slightly at her. "Under the Whomping Willow, there's a tunnel. If you push the right knot at the base of the trunk, the tree freezes and the tunnel leads you to-"

"The Shrieking Shack," Katie finished for him, amazed. "So that's where it gets it's name. It's you."

"Righto." Remus said. "After Madame Pomfrey goes back inside, James, Sirius, and Peter come out in their Animagi forms. Peter is a rat-small enough to crawl to the base of the tree and push on the knot, and James and Sirius are a stag and a dog-both large enough to control me if there's trouble."

"Wow. That's advanced magic."

Remus grinned at her and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in next to him. "I'm crazy about you," he breathed in her ear. Katie beamed.

Ron spun Hermione out and quick as a flash, pulled her back against him. She grinned up at him, cheeks flushed from laughter and crazy dancing.

He stared down at her, and slowly a serious look came over his face. "Do you want to go for a walk?" He glanced up and out the window. "It looks like it's snowing."

Hermione smiled. "Sure. Let's get some coats on."

When Harry, in an improvisational moment, grabbed Lily and pulled her to him to dance, Ginny grinned and went over to stand by James.

"Having fun?" James asked, grinning at her.

"Yeah," Ginny said with a smile, watching Harry dance with his mother. "I'm glad he has the chance to get to know you," she said quietly.

"I'm glad we get to know him, too. At least now we know he grows up to be a good man."

Ginny nodded and paused a moment, then spoke again. "I actually wanted to ask you something." she said hesitantly.

James looked over at her curiously. "What's on your mind?" he asked, concerned.

"I was wondering about Potter Manor." Ginny said quietly. "Harry knows nothing about it, or he hasn't mentioned anything."

James nodded. "Well, considering Harry didn't grow up there, it's understood that he wouldn't know about it. The Potter heir officially inherits Potter Manor when he gets engaged. Since he only asked you to marry him last week, and isn't officially the Potter heir in this time, he hasn't officially inherited it yet. When you go back to the future, however, I'm sure he'll be informed of it soon after you're officially registered as back in your correct time."

Ginny nodded slowly. "But how do...how do they know that we're engaged?"

"It's the magic of the engagement, out of love, and the magic of the family. When a Potter heir gets engaged, the magic registers immediately on the Potter family tree. A ghost of a line appears between the heir and his fiance, who appears on the fabric right away. Of course, that only happens when the engagement is recognized as one out of love and not greed or some other negative emotion. But you have nothing to worry about there," James grinned. "You and Harry are so obviously in love with each other, it's almost sickening."

Ginny hit James on the arm, giving him a reproving look, but she was smiling.

Ron and Hermione came to a stop in front of the giant oak tree by the lake. He threw an arm around her shoulders, kissing her on the cheek.

"Do you remember it was here, right after the Final Battle, that we first said we loved each other?" Ron asked quietly.

Hermione looked at him, surprised. Ron was not one to talk about his feelings often. "How could I forget? We were bickering because you woke up Harry and Ginny, when for the first time in a year, Harry actually looked peaceful."

Ron laughed. "Yeah. You were yelling at me and then I just kissed you."

Hermione sighed. "And from then on, that's what you do whenever we get into an argument."

"I can't help it if you look beautiful when you're mad at me!" Ron said with a grin.

Hermione giggled, leaning her head on Ron's shoulder.

"Hermione." Ron said suddenly, pulling away and taking her hands. "I...I don't think I say it enough, how much I love you. And I do. So much. You...kept me together after losing Fred, and going through everything after the Battle, and I wouldn't have gotten through it without you. I have a huge family, but for some reason, I could be in the middle of them, and when you're not around, I feel empty. And that time I left you and Harry...I couldn't believe how much I missed you. What I'm trying to say is, I don't ever want to be without you again. Hermione Jean Granger..." Ron pulled a little black box out of his pocket and got down on one knee. "I love you. Will you make me the happiest I've ever been and be my wife?" He flipped open the box and Hermione gasped. She glanced at the ring, which was a gold ring with a large ruby surrounded by diamonds, and then stared into his eyes, sinking to her knees as she nodded.

"Yes, Ron. I'll marry you. You've just made me the happiest woman in the world." She said, leaning forward to kiss him.

When they pulled away, Ron slipped the ring onto her finger, and looked at her. "And you've made me the happiest man."

With that, he leaned in to kiss her again just as the explosion rocked the school.

Meanwhile, back in the Head Common Room, the couples were sitting around on the couches and chairs. Most girlfriends had taken positions on their boyfriends laps because there wasn't that much room with so many people crowded in.

James checked his watch. "Five minutes until we ring in the new year," he said with a grin.

Noticed by all, but not commented on by any, James, Sirius, and Remus had disappeared a half hour earlier. They'd returned ten minutes later with wide grins on their faces and eyes bright with excitement.

Now, Lily glanced at James with a slightly suspicious look on her face. "You have something planned, don't you?" she asked, giving him a searching look.

James merely shrugged. "I've no idea what you're talking about," he said smoothly.

Lily looked at Remus, who was talking quietly with Katie, and Sirius, who was kissing Celeste's neck and murmuring something in her ear. They looked to be focused on their tasks, but also slightly distracted. Sirius' eyes kept darting between James, Remus, and his watch, and Remus kept glancing sideways at James as he spoke. Lily then looked back at James. "You better not have set up some elaborate prank," she said sternly, and he raised his eyebrows.

"We didn't." He replied. And it was the truth, even if she didn't believe him. It was more of a...celebration of sorts. He glanced at his watch again. "Three minutes."

Ginny was glancing in between the three Marauders with amusement. "What do you think they're planning?" she asked Harry quietly, laying her head on his shoulder.

Harry's chest rumbled as he chuckled. "I think they've already planned and set up an elaborate display to go off at midnight," he murmured in her ear. "Dad is obviously ringleader, because he keeps counting down and Remus keeps looking at him. They're all completely distracted. Whatever they have planned, however, won't be bad or derogatory because Mum will kill Dad."

Ginny nodded slowly and giggled. "She's suspicious," she said quietly.

"Thirty second countdown!" James exclaimed, pulling Lily closer to him with one arm and reaching for his wand, which was next to his leg on the chair. When she started to turn her head towards his wand hand, he grabbed her chin and turned her to face him. "You're not going to make me miss my New Year's kiss, are you?" he asked teasingly.

Celeste wrapped her arms around Sirius' neck, scooted as close as possible to him and he tangled one hand in her hair, pushed on her neck so her face was close to his and kissed up her jawline. With his other hand, he grabbed his wand, which was up his sleeve, and put his arm around her back so his wand was pointing at the window.

Remus tugged Katie closer to him, and she giggled when he pressed his lips to her cheek. He took her hand in one of his own, holding it to his chest, and took hold of his wand with his other hand, holding it against his stomach so it, too, was pointed out the window.

"Ten!" James suddenly exclaimed.

Jose grabbed Kacey's waist and tickled her lightly, causing her to yelp and hit him on the chest. He merely laughed and pulled her closer.

"Nine!"

Sirius pulled away from Celeste long enough to yell and she laughed at him.

"Eight!"

Draco put his hand on Sarah's cheek and grinned at her. She grinned back and bumped her nose with his.

"Seven!"

Remus leaned his forehead against Katie's and she whispered, "I'm onto you."

"Six!"

Joe pulled Kathy closer and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Five!"

James and Sirius murmured something in unison and somewhere in the castle, fifty fuzes went bright with fire.

"Four!"

Lily narrowed her eyes at James and muttered, "What did you just do?"

"Three!"

Harry slid his hand to the back of Ginny's neck and tilted her head so she was centimeters from him.

"Two!"

Remus merely smirked at Katie and murmured something, moving his hand slightly against her back to complete the spell.

"One!"

James grinned at Lily, pulling her closer. "You'll see."

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Every boyfriend kissed their girlfriend on the lips almost simultaneously and suddenly, there was an explosion. Or several. Lily was the first to break away, whipping her head towards the sound. She gasped when her eyes landed on the window.

Hermione jumped and pulled away from Ron, staring up at the sky. "Oh, Merlin," she whispered, looking up as the fireworks exploded across the night.

Ron laughed. "I think they're better than the twins' were," he muttered, wrapping an arm around Hermione's waist. "Happy New Year, 'Mione."

Hermione leaned her head on Ron's shoulder. "Happy New Year."

"Oh my god," Lily breathed, glancing back at James to see the satisfied smirk on his face. "They're amazing." she said with a smile.

The fireworks exploding across the sky were in a myriad of colors. James, Sirius, and Remus had made sure to cover every single color of fireworks made. Some formed fiery pictures in the sky that left a momentary imprint across the night, while others only looked like Muggle fireworks, and popped and crackled, crossing each other and hitting each other with mini explosions and new colors.

Sirius was laughing, a grin on his face and Remus was grinning also.

"Let's go outside and see them!" Katie exclaimed, pulling on Remus' hand.

He laughed and shook his head. "You don't want to go out there quite yet," he said in a low voice. "Give it five minutes. The fireworks last twenty."

"And why should we give it five minutes?" Lily asked, hand on her hip.

"The statues are celebrating, too, Lily." Sirius said, rolling his eyes as if it were obvious. "Give them two minutes to stop shooting confetti cannons and another two to let the stuff settle."

Lily stared at him before finally rolling her eyes. "You're all crazy." She said firmly. "Completely insane."

James laughed and hooked an arm around her waist. "But that's why you love us," he grinned.

"I say we just stay in," Kacey said, staring out the window and holding onto Jose's hand. "We can see them well enough from here, and it's freezing out."

"I agree," Sarah said, still sharing a chair with Draco. They could see the fireworks perfectly from where they were sitting.

"Well..." Harry said quietly, "this has been a great year. I got to meet you guys, I proposed to my girlfriend..." Ginny beamed and Harry wrapped an arm around her.

"I agree." James said. "Well, no proposal yet, but I'm glad I got to meet you. Lily was saying earlier that she's glad she got to see you happy. You've turned out to be a wonderful man," he said, nodding at Harry.

Harry nodded back. "Thanks. It means a lot to hear you say that."

Kacey smiled. "I'm glad I got to know what you were like when you were younger," she said to Joe and Kathy. "It's really cool to see how you evolved into the person you are today."

"And I'm glad we know that you two grow up to be wonderful women." Kathy said with a smile. "We've only known you for a week, but already I can tell."

Sarah sighed. "Do you think, when we go back, it will be the same day we left? Or will time have gone on?"

Before anyone could answer, the Portrait Hole burst open and Ron dragged Hermione in. Their cheeks were flushed, they had snow and confetti in their hair, and both were grinning from ear to ear.

Hermione looked around at everyone, bouncing in excitement. "Guess what?" she asked, barely able to contain herself.

Ginny looked between her brother and his girlfriend. The way the wheels seemed to be turning in her head reminded Harry of Hermione for a moment, and Ginny's gasp only made him shake his head. "Ron!" Ginny exclaimed.

"What?" Ron asked with a grin.

Hermione's smile got wider, if possible, and she held out her hand. "Does this answer your question, Ginny?"

Ginny squealed and lunged forward, throwing her arms around the newly engaged couple. Ron laughed and hugged his sister. "Congratulations!" she squeaked. When she allowed Ron and Hermione to break from her embrace, Kacey and Sarah were next to congratulate the two. They jumped forward and hugged the couple at the same time, causing Hermione to laugh and squeeze them tight. Harry slapped Ron on the back.

"How long did it take you to get up the nerve?" he asked with a grin.

Ron grinned back. "I'd been deliberating all night as to whether I should ask her to go on a walk or not. Then it started snowing, and I thought, just go for it. And it was perfect. She said yes right before the fireworks went off." At this, he looked over to where the grinning Marauders were standing. "Nice fireworks, by the way. And the confetti? Wicked."

Remus just shook his head, and James and Sirius immediately faked innocence. "Excuse me?" Sirius said, "Who says we did it?"

Ron just rolled his eyes. "The only people I know who can pull of fireworks as good as those are my twin brothers, and they're pranksters. So, the only people who can pull off fireworks that good are pranksters, and you fit the bill."

James sighed. "You caught us." The rest laughed.

"Well..." Sarah said with a grin. "This has been a pretty good night to ring in the new year."

Everyone laughed and agreed.

New Years Day turned out to be a relaxing day. The Marauders and the time travelers were lounging around the Head Common Room, talking about anything and everything. The girls had gushed over Ron's proposal and everyone had laughed when James told of how Lily had demanded to know what was planned the night before. It was then that last nights unanswered question was brought up again.

"Do you think, when we go back, it will be the same day we left? Or will time have gone on?" Ginny asked it this time, leaning her head on Harry's shoulder.

"I think, because we've been gone for so long, that time will have gone on as well," Kacey said slowly. "I mean, we can't be in limbo forever."

Hermione thought about that. "But at the same time, us being gone for months changes the future. The whole point of time travel is to be able to achieve your goals without changing the future. Us disappearing for nearly a year would change the future."

"Yes..." Ginny said slowly, "but that future hasn't been written yet. Technically, this has already happened in our time, so anything we've changed, or made happen, wouldn't be any different from how we remember it."

Hermione nodded. "Yes, that does make sense..." she trailed off and Harry spoke.

"Why do you think we were sent back?" He asked dully. "Our world could be falling apart right now."

Draco snorted from the couch across from him. "Not everything revolves around you, Harry."

Sarah grabbed his hand. "Stop it, Draco. You know as well as I do that it's very possible for this to be a plan to get Harry out of the way for a while. The wizarding world is still rebuilding itself."

Ginny cleared her throat, stopping whatever Sarah was going to say next. "I think this reeks of Fred and George," she said mildly, observing her nails. "It must have been something they planned before Fred was killed. Maybe they only planned to use it after Voldemort was dead."

Everyone looked at her. "You think this is a prank?" Ron asked incredulously. "Why would they do this? If they were to do something like this, they'd send us to...a cursed tomb in ancient Egypt or something."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I think they meant to give something back to Harry. And George had no guarantee of which seat he would take at the table during the dance, so he just sent our whole table. When you think about it, this has just enough prank and thought into it as Fred and George would put. Harry did fund them, you know. He may own one third of the store, but they still owe him, because Harry doesn't need the money. One thing Harry wanted more than anything, however, was to know his parents."

The room was silent for a moment, before Harry spoke softly. "I am right here, you know. But, you're right. It has the scent of a prank because we were sent back in the middle of a ball, and probably looked like fools when we landed here. And though I told them not to worry about it, that owning part of the store is enough, they still insist that they owe me."

"What do they owe you for?" James suddenly spoke up. No one from the past had said anything until this point.

"I gave them money to jump-start their joke shop."

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "How much did you give them?"

"Fifty thousand Galleons," Harry said asently, ignoring the effect of his words on the people from the past. He looked over at Hermione and Ron. "Hopefully Ginny's right, and this is Fred and George's doing. If something goes wrong...I don't know what I'll do."

"If something goes wrong, _we'll_ overcome it," Kacey said fimly. "You won't be stuck doing anything alone."

Harry sighed. "Thanks, guys."

The room descended into silence as they all thought of the different possibilities for why they were sent here.


	19. Chapter 18: Love and Snow in the Air

Chapter 18: Love and Snow in the Air

It was a cold January morning when Lily woke up to see the grounds of Hogwarts covered in snow. Most of the time, Lily was a fairly calm and rational girl. But when she saw snow, all bets were off. She threw open the curtains in her room, rousing the time travelers from their slumber, and ran to James room, throwing open the curtains in there too. Less eyes shot open in this room, but there were more grumbles about the early hour. Giggling to herself, she jumped on top of James, who swore and sat up so fast, he almost threw her off the bed.

"Lily?" He asked hoarsely, squinting at her. In his view, she seemed bright and blinding, surrounded by the light coming through the windows.

"It's snowing!" She said excitedly, bouncing on his legs.

James groaned and lay back, shutting his eyes. Lily just smiled, jumped off of him and pulled the covers off of him, then clapped her hands loudly.

"Come on everyone, snow ball fight!" When nobody moved, she scowled and yelled, "Breakfast in the common room for everyone who gets up in the next five minutes!"

The most audible response was Ron's groan of, "Did someone say breakfast?"

Lily sighed in relief. If Ron was up, the other boys wouldn't be long after him. "Yes, now get up, you lazy arses!" She left their room and waved her wand at the common area, summoning muffins, fruit, and juice for everyone to eat before their snowball fight. Then she went back to the girls room. They were all sitting up, save Ginny, and Lily sighed, pulling the blankets off her in the same manner she had James'. It didn't take long for her to sit up, too.

Twenty minutes later, the large group was buttoning up their cloaks and getting ready to go outside. Ron had been the first one out of his room(besides Lily), which would normally be a surprise, but when food was dangled in front of his face, he tended to get moving a lot faster. And he had first pick of everything, so he was on his second helping by the time everyone else had joined him. Now, the girls were bundled up in yoga pants, leggings and designer cloaks, all water resistant, and the boys in heavy winter cloaks and snow pants. They, however, had decided to forego the water resistant charms, claiming that in this boys vs. girls snowball fight, they would have no need of them. What they didn't anticipate, was that Kacey and Sarah were the snowball fight queens of their neighborhood at home, and that Ginny, growing up with six brothers, was also talented when it came to snowball fights.

The group from the Head Dorms had been outside for ten minutes, when Sirius, Remus, Peter, Celeste, Katie, and James joined them. The addition of the last three Marauders to the boys team gave them a bit of an edge, but there were no guarantees.

Draco had a little bit of trouble getting into the fight at first, Sarah assumed it was because his childhood wasn't exactly "fun", but after she had managed to hit him in the chest and face with more than one snowball, he had begun a personal vendetta against her, which soon included the other girls too. Soon he was running around with the rest of them, a grin on his face, and several snowballs in his arms.

Ginny and Sarah met up behind their snow fort, trying to rebuild their snowball artillery.

"Draco seems like he's having fun," Ginny said with a sly look at her friend.

Sarah got a dreamy look on her face. "Yeah...it took me a little while to loosen him up, but he's into it now."

Ginny laughed and waved a hand in front of her face. "Hey, there. We're doing a job here, remember."

Sarah rolled her eyes.

"How are things, though, seriously?" Ginny asked.

Sarah grinned. "Things are great. I know he had a lot of trouble in the past and during the war, but he's really a good guy."

Ginny grinned back. "I'm happy for you. I'm happy for him, too. He seems a lot lighter these days, and I think that's mostly because of you." She winked and grabbed an armful of snowballs. "I gotta go. Sirius hit me and claimed that I couldn't get as good of a hit on him. I have to prove him wrong."

Sarah laughed. "Go, Ginny!" She exclaimed. She grabbed a couple of snowballs for herself, and ran out from behind the fort, ready to join the fray once again. She was coming up to a tree, and considering hiding behind it, when someone appeared from the other side of it and knocked into her, the impact slamming her down into the snowy ground.

"Gotcha." Draco said with a grin from his position on top of her. He kissed her nose and looked at her suspisciously. "You weren't talking about me with Weaslette, were you?"

Sarah rested her hand on the back of his neck, holding him on top of her, and grinned at him. "It was only good things, I assure you."

He smiled back. "Good," He said quietly, before leaning down and meeting her lips with his. Without warning her other hand came down on his head-filled with snow. He yanked his head back to look into her laughing face indignantly. "Hey!" He exclaimed. "I'm gonna get you for that!"

Without hesitation, he pulled his gloves off and slipped his hands under her jacket to the sides of her stomach, tickling her. She immediately lost it, laughing hysterically and begging him to stop.

"Stop!" She squealed. "Draco, please!" He only stopped when she dragged his head to hers and kissed him, distracting him efficiently. When they finally had to pull apart for air, he rested his forehead against hers. "You know what I want right now?" She murmured, her hand still resting on the back of his neck.

"What?" He asked, smiling at her.

"Hot chocolate. With whipped cream." She licked her lips and Draco groaned.

Then he looked down at her a little weirdly. "I've actually never had hot chocolate."

Sarah looked horrified. "Get up!" she exclaimed. "We have to fix this immediately. I can't be with someone who has never had hot chocolate!"

Draco looked skeptical. "Is it really that great?"

Sarah looked at him like he was insane, then pushed on his shoulders. "Come on, you. We have to go to the kitchens!"

Draco got to his feet and held out his hand, which she took, and he pulled her to her feet. They ran across the grounds to avoid getting hit by any stray snowballs and only stopped to walk once they made it inside.

The minute they entered the kitchens, a half a dozen house elves surrounded them, all begging for something to do. Sarah grinned. "Two mugs of hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows, please!" She said happily. She pulled Draco to a table, and a second after they sat down, their mugs of hot cocoa were placed in front of them.

"Be careful, Miss and Mister. The drinks are hot."

"Thank you," Sarah smiled at the elf, and turned to Draco. "Okay," she said seriously. "Now, you have to blow on it, otherwise you'll burn your tongue off. Try some!" she encouraged. Without hesitation, she lifted the mug to her lips and blew on it, before taking a sip. Draco did the same, savoring the chocolatey taste. She grinned at him after he tried it. "Well?"

Draco chuckled and shook his head at her, reaching his hand out to wipe off the whipped cream mustache on her upper lip with his thumb, which he brought to his mouth and licked off. "Delicious," he proclaimed, leaning forward to kiss Sarah.

When he pulled away, they stared into each others eyes for a long moment before he seemed to nod to himself and bring his hand up to her cheek. "I love you," he whispered, rubbing his thumb along her lips.

A breathtaking smile lit up her face. "I love you, too," she murmured back, leaning in to kiss him once more. Draco brought his other hand up to frame her face and Sarah hooked her hands behind his neck and they deepened the kiss. They were so engrossed in each other, they didn't hear the portrait open, or the two people who walked in laughing and immediately went silent upon the scene in the kitchen.

The girl looked at her fiance and winked, before they walked to the table the couple was sitting at.

"Well, this is not normally the place I would reccomend for such lovey-dovey behavior," Jose drawled.

Draco tried to jump away from Sarah, but she held him to her and made him finish the kiss before allowing him to pull away and turn to face Kacey and Jose.

"We were just enjoying some hot chocolate," Sarah said, slightly primly and slightly defensively.

Jose smirked. "I'm not sure the reccomended technique for drinking it is licking it off the inside of someone elses mouth, but to each their own."

Kacey smirked and Sarah's cheeks flooded red. Kacey walked around the table and grabbed Sarah's hand. "If you'll excuse us, I believe I need to talk to my sister." She had not missed the silly grin on Sarah's face, nor the elated look in her eyes. The girls moved to the other end of the table and immediately leaned towards eachother, talking in fast whispers.

Jose sat across from Draco and raised his eyesbrows at the boy. "Uh oh, man, looks like trouble."

Draco simply raised one eyebrow in return, then glanced at his girlfriend, whose smile was the widest he'd ever seen on her face. "I don't think so," he said, a glint in his eyes as though he knew something Jose didn't. He did, of course.

When Kacey squealed from the other end of the table and threw her arms around her sister, his statement was confirmed.

Jose looked at Draco. "What did you do?"

Draco shrugged and met Jose's eyes. "I may have told her the one thing every girl wants to hear..." he trailed off and let his eyes rest back on Sarah, who was still chatting happily with her sister. "...which is also the one thing I've only ever said to my mother," he finished quietly.

Jose nodded. "You told her you loved her?" he asked, a soft look in his eyes as he, too, looked at his significant other. When Draco nodded, he smiled. "Make sure you tell her that she's the second person you've ever said that to."

Draco nodded again. "I will. She deserves to know that she's the most special person in my life."


	20. Chapter 19: Valentine's Day

Chapter 19: Valentine's Day

The morning of February fourteenth found the girls getting ready for their Valentine's Day Hogsmeade trip. None of their dates' had told them where they were going, so they dressed fairly simply for the most part, in jeans and pretty shirts. When they came out, buttoning up their cloaks, the boys were sitting on the couches in the Common Room talking in hushed voices. They abruptly stopped talking when Draco sat straight up in his seat with a smooth, "Hello, ladies." All the guys turned around with grins on their faces.

"Hapy Valentines Day!"

The large group split up into couples and started walking down to Hogsmeade. Once they actually reached High Street, they split off even more and went their separate ways.

James and Lily holed up in a corner booth at the Three Broomsticks and had lunch. They laughed and talked and had a good time, especially once James ordered a milkshake that they shared. They tended to end up kissing more than drinking it, though, because they "went for the straw at the same time." James claims it's just accidental. Lily's not so sure, but she likes kissing James, so she's not complaining.

After lunch, they went for a walk around Hogsmeade. They started to head towards the Shrieking Shack, but James stopped at a bench just around the corner in the path, out of sight of the rest of the town.

"Let's just sit for a minute," He sat, watching Lily, "I want to give you something."

Lily smiled, her cheeks growing red. "You didn't have to get me anything," she protested, but took his hand and sat beside him anyway.

"I wanted to." James said, smiling slightly. "Besides, this didn't cost me anything." He handed her a flat red velvet box.

Lily looked up at him, and then down at the box for a moment, before slowly lifting the lid. When she saw what was inside, she gasped. "James! This isn't-" she broke off and swallowed, tears in her eyes.

"No," James said softly, slipping the box out of her hands. "It's not a proposal. Not yet. This is my family ring. I put it on a chain for you. I want you to have it, as a promise of sorts, that one day I will be proposing." He brushed a thumb across her cheek. "I want everyone to know you're mine. Will you wear it?" For the confidence James always portrayed, he looked quite nervous now.

Lily smiled and lifted up her hair. "Of course I'll wear it, James."

James grinned and reached around to the nape of her neck, clasping the necklace and letting it settle onto her chest. Then he brushed his thumb across the ring where it lay. "Perfect." He proclaimed.

Further perfecting the moment, Lily leaned over and kissed him.

Harry took Ginny to lunch at the Hog's Head. He had sent a letter to Aberforth Dumbledore the week before requesting a private room so he could have a romantic meal with his fiance. He made preparations so their food would magically appear when he said the word, therefore no one interupted their cozy little meal. After they finished the main course, Harry grinned at Ginny and beckoned her over.

When she stood and walked over to him questioningly, he caught her around the waist and pulled her onto his lap. "I got you something," he breathed into her ear.

Ginny wrapped an arm around his neck to stay balanced on his lap and kissed him smack on the lips. "Oh, did you?" she asked coyly.

Harry grinned and kissed her on the nose. "I did." He pulled a long black box out of his pocket and placed it in her hands.

Ginny glanced up at him before opening the box and sucking in her breath. Inside was a stirling silver charm bracelet. It looked delicate, but she could tell it was sturdy. There was a single charm on it-a silver plate in the shape of a heart. It was engraved with the words: "I love you. -H.J.P." Without hesitation, Ginny tilted her head up and met Harry's lips with hers in a sweet kiss. When she pulled away, she looked into his eyes for a long moment. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "I love you, too." She looked back down at the bracelet. "Put it on me?" She asked.

Harry grinned and gently took her wrist, clasping the bracelet around it and adjusting it so he could see the charm. "Ready for dessert?" He asked, pressing a kiss to Ginny's neck.

Ginny giggled. "Definitely." A chocolate brownie sundae appeared on the table in front of them, and by the time they finished their dessert, their faces were covered in chocolate and they were crying from laughter after they had attempted to feed each other several times.

After cleaning themselves up, Ginny grinned at Harry when he asked what she wanted to do next. "Well...you can help me pick out a few new dresses," She said, and Harry would never admit it, but he thought his girlfriend sounded quite evil when she said those words.

But he sighed and nodded-after all, Harry Potter was whipped.

Ron and Hermione also dined at the Hog's Head, though not in as romantic a setting as Harry and Ginny. They sat in the main restaurant at a table against the wall and spent most of their lunch staring dreamily into each others eyes. They talked occasionally as they ate and Ron leaned over quite often to kiss Hermione when she was in the middle of a sentence. Normally, this would annoy Hermione to no end, but it was Valentine's Day, and she was in sort of a sappy mood.

When they finished eating, and were about to leave the restaurant, Ron dragged his chair around to place it next to Hermione's and pulled a red velvet bag out of his pocket, handing it to a pleasantly surprised Hermione. "For you, love. Happy Valentine's Day."

Hermione smiled and kissed him on the cheek before pulling the bag open and reaching inside. She pulled the contents out and a soft smile formed on her face. In her hand, she held a thin silver cuff bracelet, with the words: "Ron loves Hermione" and a little heart engraved in it. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "I love it." She kissed him. "I love you." She kissed him again, and when they finally pulled apart, Ron grinned at her.

"I love you, too."

"Now," Hermione said happily, slipping the bracelet onto her wrist and admiring it. "I was thinking we could go to Honeydukes. We can spend some time together tonight in front of the fire and gorge ourselves on chocolate," she said, grinning.

Ron grinned back, and kissed her again. "Sounds like my kind of night," he said, pulling her to her feet. They left the restaurant hand in hand.

"So?" Kacey asked excitedly, "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," Jose said, kissing her on the cheek.

Kacey sighed. "I'm impatient. I don't like surprises."

Jose laughed. "Well, bear with me here. We're almost there." He led her a little farther down the street and stopped abruptly, pulling her inside Madame Puddifoot's.

Kacey grinned and kissed Jose on the cheek. "How did you know I wanted to go here?"

Jose laughed as he led her to a table in the corner. "You're Kacey Coelho. Of course you wanted to go here. And," He said, standing up straight and arrogantly straightening his collar. "I'm your fiance. I know everything about you."

Kacey laughed and grabbed his hand. "Sit down, you." He sat across from her, and a few moments later they had cups of tea and a plate of pastries in front of them. They spent lunch talking about their upcoming wedding, occasionaly stealing kisses from one another.

When they finished eating, Jose suggested they go for a walk, and they ambled slowly along, holding hands, until they ended up outside the Shrieking Shack. Jose jumped up to sit on the fence and pulled Kacey closer so she stood in between his legs.

"I, my love, have a Valentine's present for you." He said, leaning forward and giving her a quick kiss.

"Really?" Kacey grinned. "What is it?"

Jose grinned back and pulled a square silver box out of his pocket. "You'll have to open it and see."

Grinning, Kacey pulled the lid off the box and gasped when she saw what was inside. It was a silver bracelet, designed so that there was a thin silver plate attached to a chain. On the silver plate were the words: "Jose and Kacey Forever".

Kacey leaned up and kissed Jose in thanks. When she pulled away she handed the box back to him. "Will you put it on me?" She asked with a smile.

Jose grinned and nodded, taking her wrist and attaching the bracelet. "It looks beautiful." He said, smiling.

"Thank you," Kacey said, leaning forward and kissing him again.

Draco brought Sarah to the Hog's Head for lunch and led her to a booth in the corner. When he went to sit across from her, she dragged him down to slide in next to her and leaned into him while they decided what to eat.

"Normally," Draco said quietly in her ear, "I would bring you somewhere much nicer than this, but considering we're twenty-five years in the past, I don't know the places as well as I do in our time."

Sarah grinned and went to say something, but they had to order first. Once they ordered lunch, Sarah leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "I don't really care where we are," she said with a smile, "as long as I'm with you."

Draco's eyes softened and he kissed her lightly. As they ate, they talked about almost everything. Sarah's fear had always been that they would one day run out of things to say, but after several months together, she found it was not the case. After they finished sharing an ice cream sundae, Draco handed her a thick envelope made of nice parchment.

Sarah looked at him questioningly. "What's this?" she asked, giving him a look.

Draco's eyes twinkled as he winked at her. "Open it and see."

Sarah glanced up at him one more time before opening the envelope and pulling out a thick green parchment card. She read it aloud. "To the beautiful Sarah Rose Coelho, you are invited to attend a private dinner in the room of requirement at six o'clock. Dress your best. With love, Draco Abraxus Malfoy. P.S. I love you." When she finished, she looked up at Draco with a large smile and, sliding her hand to the back of his neck, kissed him hard. When she pulled away, she smiled at him, and he grinned back. "I'll be there," she whispered. Then she smiled, with a sort of evil smile reminiscent of Ginny's. "I have to buy shoes," she said, looking at him seriously. "Come with me. You can help me pick them out."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "When it comes to shoes, I'm positive anything you pick out will be perfect and sexy as hell," he said, whispering the last three words in a husky voice.

Sarah laughed. "Come anyway. I want to spend this day with you." She pushed on his shoulder lightly and he got up with a sigh and a roll of his eyes, holding his hand out for her.

He would never admit it to anyone, but he actually had fun shopping with her...even though she ended up refusing to let him see what shoes she bought.

Remus took Katie to the Three Broomsticks. They managed to land themselves a cozy corner booth and slid in next to each other. After a debate over whether or not to eat lunch or sweets, they ordered butterbeers and a plate of cookies. They ate their way through the plate , with Remus eating double the amount of cookies that Katie did. When he picked up his fifth double chocolate chip cookie, Katie gave him an amazed look.

"You're still hungry?" she asked, incredulously.

Remus' cheeks went red and he cleared his throat. "Well," he said slowly. "I tend to have a bigger appetite than normal people my age. You just never noticed because I'm not a disgusting eater like Sirius is."

Katie thought a moment. "I suppose you're right. And I'm also going to guess that you have a huge sweet tooth," she said, amused.

"Sweets give me energy and then, when it's time to go to bed, I crash, which is a good thing." He paused and glanced at Katie warily, as if wondering whether or not to continue, then he lowered his voice. "When it gets closer to the full moon, I have a tendency to take on the wolfs schedule, which means I tend to stay up late. Like I said, the sweets take me on a sugar rush, and then I crash, and am hopefully able to sleep at a normal hour." He glanced at Katie to see how she reacted to his confession, and saw that she was smiling slightly at him.

Without warning, she leaned over and kissed him. "Thank you for telling me," she said quietly. "I know it must be hard for you to open up to someone other than James, Sirius, and Peter about your..." she paused a moment, "what did Sirius call it the other day? Your furry little problem?" She asked, puzzled.

Remus laughed and swung his arm around Katie's shoulders, pulling her close to him and kissing her temple. "Yes." He said, still chuckling. "That's what Sirius and James call it."

Katie grinned. "I like it," she said.

Remus laughed and kissed her again. "Let's talk about something different." he said, still smiling. "I'm glad you took that conversation so well, because I have a gift for you."

Katie's eyes lit up. "A gift?" she asked, grinning. "What kind of gift?"

Remus looked at her shyly and pulled a small white cardboard box out of his pocket. "Happy Valentine's Day," he said, appearing a little nervous when she took the box from his hands.

Katie smiled at him and then pulled the cover off the box. When she saw what was inside, she sucked in her breath and tears came to her eyes. "Oh, Remus," she said quietly, staring at the necklace inside the box. The charm was hanging on a thin gold chain. It was the gold outline of a heart, with the rotating form of a wolf howling at the moon in the middle. Holding tight to the necklace, she threw her arms around Remus. "I love you so much," she whispered, and Remus stiffened slightly in shock before returning her hug, holding her tightly.

"I love you, too, Katie," he whispered back, his voice cracking slightly.

She pulled away and rested her hand on his cheek. "I just want you to know, that this necklace means the world to me. It's a symbol of the fact that you finally let me in all the way and it makes me feel like the most special girl in the world."

Remus smiled, leaning into her hand. "You are the most special girl in the world." Without a word, she handed him the necklace and he clasped it around her neck. When she turned back around, he said, "It means the world to me that you'll wear it," and then he kissed her.

When he pulled away, she smiled at him for a long moment and then grabbed his hand. "Let's go to Honeydukes."

"Why Honeydukes?" He asked with a grin, standing up and pulling her up with him.

"Because," she answered matter-of-factly, "Friday's the full moon and we'll need lots of candy to last the upcoming week of sugar rushes."

Without hesitation, Remus slid his arm around her waist, placed his hand behind her neck and pulled her in for a kiss that left her breathless. When he pulled away, they stared into each others eyes for a long moment, before Remus smiled and nodded. "To Honeydukes it is," he said, pulling her close to him.

Sirius had done the same thing Harry had for a table, only he had owled Madame Puddifoot, not Aberforth Dumbledore. When Sirius opened the door to their private room for Celeste, they entered a cozy little space with a large, comfortable red couch and a coffee table in front of it. The coffee table was covered in pastries and had a gaudy tea set in the center of it.

Sirius, rebel that he is, pulled a flask of firewhiskey out of his pocket, with which he spiked their cups of tea before pulling Celeste into his lap. "Happy Valentine's Day, babe," he said, kissing her on the neck, and she giggled.

"Happy Valentine's Day to you, too, honey." They drank their tea and ate quite a few pastries, feeding them to each other and kissing each other as they did.

It may not have seemed romantic, but it was what they wanted to be doing.

When they finished eating and Sirius was on his back on the couch with Celeste lying half on top of him, he stroked her hair back from her face. "I do have something for you, you know," he said quietly, rubbing his thumb over her lips.

Celeste smiled. "Really?" she asked, slightly coyly.

"Yeah," Sirius replied, reaching in his pocket and pulling out a flat navy blue jewelry box. "Go on. Open it."

She flipped open the box and gasped at the set of jewelry inside. It was gold-based and studded with rubies. There was a necklace with a ruby pendant of sorts in the shape of a heart. The earrings were teardrop style with heart-shaped rubies, and the bracelet was made of rubies in tennis style.

Celeste looked at Sirius with tears in her eyes. "I love it, Sirius. I can't wait to wear it." She kissed him, and then pulled away to stare at the jewelry a little more. She brushed her fingers over the pendant, and sighed. "This is the nicest thing anyone's ever given me."

Sirius kissed her on the cheek and grinned. "I'm glad," he said smartly. "If I found out any other guy was giving you stuff like this, I'd have to kill them."

Celeste laughed, as was his intention, and he smirked. "What do you say we head back to Hogwarts and sit by the lake?" Celeste asked quietly. "We don't need to be in Hogsmeade to have the perfect Valentine's Day."

Sirius nodded, dragging himself and Celeste to their feet. "Sounds like a plan to me. Let's go, baby."

Celeste smiled and tucked herself under his arm as they made their way down High Street.

Sarah left the Head Dorm in a little black dress with a sequined top and red high heels at quarter to six. Kacey grinned and winked at her as she left, giving her a thumbs up. She walked slowly, not wanting to be too early, but not wanting to be late either.

When she reached the room, she walked in front of the door a few times, thinking _I have a date with Draco_. The door appeared almost immediately. Smiling to herself, she reached forward and pushed it open, gasping when she saw the inside of the room. It was probably the smallest she'd seen it, but it was perfect. There was a couch against one wall, and on the other side of the room, there was a small round table set for two with candles surrounding it. Draco was standing next to one of the chairs looking very handsome in a black dress shirt and pants with a red tie.

He smiled the moment Sarah walked into the room and stepped forward to meet her, kissing her softly. "Hello," he said as he pulled away.

"Hi," she said with a wide smile. "I love the candles."

Draco grinned. "I love you."

Sarah laughed, "and I love you, too."

He looked her up and down, eyes widening when he saw her shoes. "And I love the shoes, too. Are these the babies you wouldn't let me see today?"

She grinned. "They are."

He smiled and held out his hand to her. "Right this way, my beautiful lady."

Sarah curtsied lightly and took his hand. "As you say, kind sir."

Draco led her to the table and pulled out her chair. With a smile, she sat and he pushed her in. Then he moved around to take his seat, and knocked on the table twice.

A little house elf appeared with a _CRACK!_ "Young Mister and Miss, the appetizer of the evening," the little elf spoke in a high voice, bowing low as he snapped his fingers, conjuring a tray of delicious smelling food immediately. He placed the food on the table, bowed low, told them to enjoy it, and left them.

They took their time enjoying the appetizers and the main course, which the elf brought out when the appetizers were finished. Laughing, they spoke of their times at school, telling stories of when their friends got into trouble. They also told of their families. Though Draco's funny stories about that were much fewer than Sarah's, the humor level more than made up for the lack of them. Most of Draco's stories involved his father getting humiliated in one way or another in Muggle London on his way to certain functions held outside the wizarding world. Sarah's stories often included adventurous treks she and her sister had made and pranks they had played on their brother, his friends, and their parents. They kept talking for a little while after they finished the main course, and then Draco paused.

"Do you want dessert? I asked them to make something special for you. They were delighted."

Sarah grinned. "I love dessert. I'm addicted to sugar, of course I'd love a special treat!"

Draco smiled. "Very well." He knocked on the table four times. The house elf appeared holding a tray with two covered dishes on it. With a snap of its fingers, the dishes floated, still covered, to land in front of Draco and Sarah. While Sarah was looking at hers curiously, Draco glanced at the house elf, who winked. When she lifted up the cover on the dish, her eyes widened and she sat up straight in her chair. With a surprised look on her face, she reached forward and picked up the small velvet black box, popping it open slowly. She gasped and put the cover to the tray down.

When she looked up at Draco, he was on one knee in front of her chair. "We haven't know each other all that long," he said, taking her hands in his. "But I feel like I've known you forever. You came into my life and brought light and excitement and enthusiasm for the littlest things, and that's one of my favorite things about you. But most of all, you taught me how to love. Before you, the only person who'd ever said they loved me was my mother, and that wasn't very often. You showed me that I can be myself and be loved for it, and you showed me that I can love whole-heartedly. You showed me that I don't have to hide a part of myself because you might not approve of it, and because of that, you are the most special person in my life and the one I want to spend the rest of it with. Sarah Rose Coelho, it doesn't have to be now, it doesn't have to be a month from now, or a year from now, but will you pledge to keep loving me forever? Will you marry me?"

By the time he finally spoke the question, Sarah had tears and mascara dripping down her face. She bit her lip and nodded vigorously. "Yes, Draco, yes, I'll marry you," she said through her tears.

Slowly, with deliberation, Draco pulled the ring from the box and slid it on her finger. She dropped to her knees in front of him and kissed him passionately, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. When she pulled away, she hugged him tight. "I love you so much," she whispered, "I'll love you forever."

A few hours later, Draco glanced at his watch and his eyes widened. "We should probably head back, love," he murmured, kissing the top of Sarah's head.

Sarah snuggled closer to him on the couch and shook her head into his chest. "I don't want to," she whispered. "Can't we just stay here?"

Draco chuckled. "If we wait too much longer to go back, everyone will probably start to get worried."

Sarah sighed, knowing he was right. Slowly, she sat up and got to her feet, reaching for her shoes. Draco stood as well and picked up his jacket from the back of his chair. When he turned back around, Sarah had her shoes on and was staring at her ring with a smile on her face.

He went over to her and took her hand, kissing the ring he had placed on her finger a few hours before.

"It's beautiful," she said, "I don't think I've told you that, yet. It's perfect, actually."

Draco smiled, "I'm glad." They started walking towards the door. "Ready to get back to the real world?"

Sarah grimaced, "Not really."

Draco nudged her lightly. "Well, we'll have to tell Kacey what happened sometime. She's only cornered me multiple times asking me when I was going to ask you."

Sarah looked sideways at him. "How did she know you were going to? You're not exactly the type to go for help picking out jewelry."

Draco snorted softly. "I know. The little snoop wouldn't let it rest when she saw me with the bag."

Sarah laughed. "That sounds like her. You should just consider yourself lucky that she never said anything to anyone else. She does not to how to keep a secret. She even has trouble keeping her own."

Draco nodded, considering that. "True," he mused, "There is that."

They reached the entrance to the Head Dorms and paused for a moment. Draco leaned over and kissed Sarah one last time, before pushing the door open and leading her inside.

As though an alarm had gone off, Kacey's head snapped up. She grinned. "So? How was it?"

Sarah smiled, blushing slightly. "Amazing," she said. "It was so romantic."

"I try," Draco murmured next to her.

Kacey got up and walked over to them. "Well? Did anything special happen?"

"No…" Draco said firmly, narrowing his eyes slightly at Kacey.

Sarah tried to stifle her giggle when Kacey looked extremely disappointed.

"Oh," she said, then smiled at Sarah, "Well, I'm glad you had fun." She started to turn away when Sarah took pity on her.

"Actually…" she said with a wide grin. Kacey paused and turned around slowly.

"Actually, what?" she asked, barely able to contain her impatience.

Sarah shrugged. "I just got engaged."

It took a moment for her words to stand out from the casual manner in which she said them, but when they did, Kacey screamed and threw her arms around her sister and Draco. Sarah started laughing, hugging her back and Draco stiffened slightly at first, but then returned the hug. Everyone else, brought to attention by the decibel of Kacey's scream, gathered around them, wondering what was going on until they saw Sarah showing off her ring to her sister. It was silver metal, with a large emerald-cut diamond in the middle, flanked by two smaller emerald-cut emeralds, and two more smaller emerald-cut diamonds. The girls all squealed and hugged Sarah and Draco, who seemed to be very shocked by the amount of "love" he was receiving.

When the girls had calmed down considerably, and the guys had all hugged Sarah and slapped Draco on the back, they all sat down around the Common Room.

"Congratulations, you guys," Ginny said with a grin. "I'm not sure if you got that message through our excitement." Everyone laughed.

"I'm pretty surprised that you proposed so soon, but I'm happy for you guys," Harry said with a smile.

Draco shrugged. "She's the one," he said simply.


End file.
